Be My White Knight
by daypegoraro
Summary: SwanQueen AU - Emma Swan is new in Storybrooke, she just moved in with her foster parents. It's her Senior Year and she's excited to get the hell out of High School. Regina Mills is the Storybrooke High School Queen, no one dare to cross her path, except for one blonde, irritating girl. Rating T for now. My first fanfic, be nice. :D
1. You Cheated!

Be My White Knight

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters, It all belongs to ABC and Edward and Adam, but If I did SwanQueen would be canon without a doubt in my heart!**

_**A/N: This is my first fanfic so be nice, any comments and thoughts about the story will be really appreciated. English is not my first language so it will probably have a lot of mistakes since this is unbeta-ed. Anyone who would like to me my Beta Reader just PM me and I will love you forever! lol Well, I think this is it... Enjoy and please leave a review and let me know what you think. xo**_

CHAPTER 1: _You Cheated._

Regina Mills was a queen. She was a beautiful girl with her shoulder length brown hair, chocolate eyes and full red lips. Regina Mills was The Queen of Storybrooke High School, no one would even dare to think about cross her path. She had control over the entire school, even the principal didn't messed with her, and she knew and loved to control the people around, like they were her subjects, all of them would do everything to please her and, of course, she took advantage of that.

Regina was in the senior year, but she build her fame as the queen since she entered high school, a couple of years ago, now she is respected and feared. She always believed that to be a leader you have to be respected but also feared, so people would not have the courage to try to take your place. This idea also had to do with her mother but let's not talk about her right now...

Being the head of the entire school was tiring, but she liked the responsibility and the command she had. Since it was the Senior Year she had to organized a ball and choose a theme, which she already had chosen. The theme of the ball this year would be 'Welcome to Fairytale Land', and Regina had the feeling that it would be unforgettable.

In Storybrooke High School if you were not in the Senior Year you couldn't participate the annual ball, but Regina being... well Regina, a lot of boys had invited her since her first year in the new school, but it was last year that the captain of the Storybrooke football team, and Regina's secret crush, had asked her to the ball, his name was Daniel Heart and he was really handsome with his short brown hair, light green eyes and a body of a God. When he asked her, she almost had a heart attack, but she, of course, keep the regal face, give him her best smile and said 'yes'. After that she almost run to her best friend Katheryn Nolan to tell her the news.

She and Katheryn had known each other since they were kids, their parents were friends and Katheryn, with her cute face, blue eyes and blonde hair was the only one Regina could call a friend, a real friend.

After the last year's ball Regina and Daniel became a couple, the most powerful couple of the school. But Daniel was not what Regina had expected him to be. At the very beginning of their relationship, he had been a complete gentleman, buying her roses, being kind and sweet, but as time went by, he turn out to be a complete idiot, now he was cold and distant and just the last month she had discovered he cheated on her. Apparently he cheated on her numerous times with the school sluts, but she had stayed with him anyway, she was foolish enough to think he would change for her, love her, like she loved him. They had fights, a lot of fights, that always ended up with him apologizing and swearing he would never do that again, but he always did.

All this, the cheating, the fights and the fake apologies, had started a month ago and Regina was sick of it, she had a reputation to keep and she would not spend her Senior Year with a jerk that in the end of everything just probably want to fuck her and throw her away like garbage. She made up her mind, and when Regina Mills put something in her head no one would, or could, change that. This would end today.

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Daniel was in the football practice, well, he was supposed to be training, but he was actually in the locker room with another whore when Regina saw him. He didn't even had time to think in an excuse when Regina almost run for the girl's hair pulling her out of him and slamming her against the lockers, then she turn to Daniel, he 've never seen this look in Regina's face, it was like she was going to kill him. Her eyes were black with pure rage.

"Regin-" Slap! She didn't give him the chance to talk, instead she just slapped him with all she had.

"You don't get to talk! You're a despicable boy, because judging by your attitudes we can't call you a man, now can we?" She was speaking with a disgust look on her face. He open his mouth to say something but was welcomed with another slap. "It's over Daniel, I don't want to be with you anymore, I don't want to talk or see you anymore. You. Disgust. Me." She was turning to leave when she saw the little slut sitting on the floor, she gave her a smirk and said simply, "Enjoy him", and then she was out of there.

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Emma was new in the little town of Storybrooke. And already she hated it, let's just say that she was not a small town kind of girl. Her foster parents wanted to move for a small and quiet town and get the hell out of the craziness it was Boston. When they told her their plan she was expecting to be send back to the foster home, that they would start again in another town and would not need her anymore, but for the first time she was wrong. Kevin and Sarah Walker were the best foster parents she ever had, they were very cool, seemed to like Emma and accept her for who she was. She actually called them 'mom and dad' and she was their 'little princess', - except she hated when they called her that. First, because it's really embarrassing since she had almost 18 years old, and secondly, because she was in no way a princess and she was really happy with this, thank you very much, - but she didn't care that much. When they called her 'princess' their voice was so full of love that she was starting to like, but she would never tell them that of course. With them she felt loved and protected, which was rare for Emma Swan.

Oh, there's the name thing, Emma loved to be a part of the Walker family but she was a Swan. The name was given to her when she was found by the side of the road in a white blanket with her name and a swan embroidery in purple in it. The blanket was the only thing she had from her real parents, so when she had 8 years old she decided to use the swan as her last name to feel a little bit closer to them. Now she just used it because she really got attached of the name. Luckly for her Kevin and Sarah didn't mind.

It Was her first day in the new school and all the people were looking at her like she was green or had five heads, that was one of the motives she just hated to be the New Girl. In a big city such as Boston it was bad, because people stared at you, but they just ignore you after a few moments. But in a small town?! In a small town there are so many people looking at you, just because you're new, that it's almost like they can see your soul. And a thing Emma hated was being the center of the attentions, she felt naked, she even looked down at her clothes just to confirm that she was properly dressed and then she laughed at her own stupidity. - _Great! Now they think I'm crazy too._ - she thought. Emma knew she was good-looking with her blonde hair that stopped at her waist, her beautiful green/blue eyes and her muscle body. She was also tall and her parents always said she have a beautiful smile. But she was not THAT good-looking, the kind people couldn't stop looking at. She just looked down and entered the classroom and sat at the very ending of it, trying not to get attention. History was the first class. The best class for sleep, but she couldn't do that - not in the her first day at least - so she forced herself to pay attention.

It was the same everywhere, the teachers entered the classroom, introduced themselves, talk about what we will learn this year and reviewed some things from the year before. Thank God it was her Senior Year. The big commotion was when a girl apparently named Regina Mills didn't respond when the teacher called her. It looked like the world was ending, the other students were freaking out. I looked to my right side and saw a girl with big brown hair with some red highlights in it and green eyes, I give her a small smile and she smile back.

"Hi, I'm Emma." I said extending my hand to the girl. I can't be considered the most sociable person but I had to know why this fuss was all about.

"Hi Emma, I'm Ruby." She shook my hand never stop smiling.

"So... why is everybody freaking out because one girl skipped class?" God, I was curious.

"Oh, she is not just a girl... she is like the queen of the entire school. She never skipped one class in the years she is studying here." Ruby said almost excited. God, this must be a boring town if just a girl skipping class makes everyone crazy.

"Just that?! Just one girl skipping class and you are all freaking out?!" I must confess that I was very disappointed.

"You are like that because you don't know her yet... just wait and you will see the power of The Evil Queen..." Ruby said the last three words slowly and whispering, like it was forbidden or something and I just frowned at her weirdness. But despite that she seemed like a cool girl.

"oookay..." I said turning at my chair and looking to the teacher again. She, finally, was able to control the room and keep going with her class.

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Emma's first class had just finished and she was bored already... and late. She was the last one to get out of the class. Why? Well, after a History class she was just sleepy and was in no hurry, except she had to be. She was walking in one of the halls looking at the paper in her hand searching for the next class and the next thing she knew, she was landing on the ground. She had bumped into another person. A really gorgeous person.

_**A/N 2: Yeah, I'm bad! Tell me what you think? Please? I already have chapter 2 ready, so is all up to you guys. Should I continue? xo**_


	2. Almost

Be My White Knight

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters, It all belongs to ABC and Edward and Adam, but If I did, SwanQueen would be canon without a doubt in my heart!**

**_A/N: Hey guys, here I am again. Thank you for the reviews and Follows in this. It's really important to me and seeing your reviews made me cry, Yeah, I know pathetic. But it was happy tears, so don't stop! lol This chapter is unbeta-ed, so all mistakes are mine. If someone wish to be my Beta Reader just PM me and I will love you forever! lol Thanks again and I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think._**

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CHAPTER 2:_ Almost_

_She was walking in one of the halls looking at the paper in her hand searching for the next class and the next thing she knew, she was landing on the ground. She had bumped into another person. A really gorgeous person.  
_

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After the whole Daniel thing, Regina was feeling lighter but that didn't stop the tears from falling. -_ How dare him do this to her?! She love, no... scratch that, lovED him, and that's how he repaid her?_ - she thought. The image of Daniel sticking his tongue down to that girl's throat was still a fresh memory in her mind and it was making her sick of the stomach. She looked at her watch and realized she was late for her History class.

"Damn it!" she muttered under her breath. She spend more time crying than she had realized and now it was too late, the class was almost finishing. She never skipped a class in the years she was studying here, skip one wouldn't make a difference. It's not like she would meet her knight in shinning armour today, so she decided to go to the bathroom compose herself and maybe cry a little bit more.

When she arrived in the bathroom and looked herself in the mirror she almost screamed at her image. She was a mess! Her hair was... was just wrong, her eyes puffy from crying and her make up was destroyed, her mascara had slide down her face with the tears and there was a black path until her cheeks. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and let it out slowly, thanking the Gods she decided not to go to the class. She was a queen after all, the other students couldn't see her like this, she never lost control, at least not in front of them. She turned the water on and started to clean up her face, her mind going back to Daniel, she wanted to cry again, but she would not do that, she would not give him the pleasure to see her shaken by this. She looked at the mirror again and nodded in approval. Then she realized the water take all of her make up, she would have to go to her locker and grab her purse.

She was walking toward the door when she heard the bell ring, she run to the fist stall she found, locked the door, sit in the toilet and hug her knees so no one can see her feet.

Regina heard the door opening and some girls entering the bathroom. They were talking about her.

"What do you think it happen to Regina? Some of my friends texted me saying that they saw her crying in a corner close to the football field. Do you think she is pregnant or something?" Regina raise an eyebrow at the girl's brilliant assumption. Yeah, she was being sarcastic.

The other girl gasp loudly making Regina jump, luckily they didn't seem to hear. "OMG! It's totally possible, I mean, did you see her boyfriend? I'm sure they have sex all the time. Maybe the Evil Queen will have an evil prince or princess" They giggle at the girl's joke, but Regina was not thinking this conversation was funny at all. She considered going out of the stall and kill them, but decided against it, but it didn't stop her to add a mental note to make this girls lives a living hell. The girls finally left the bathroom. Regina waited some more until she was sure no one would enter the bathroom before she got out of the stall, and then the bathroom.

Regina was walking as fast as she could. She was with her head down, so nobody could see her face, making a beeline to her locker when she collided with someone. She yelp when she landed on the floor. She was sure that her butt would gain a pretty and purple bruise, -_ Great!_ - she thought.

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"What the HELL is wrong with you?!" Was the first thing she heard from the beauty in front of her. She was with her head down but Emma could see how pretty she was even not looking at her face, and then she looked at her and Emma forgot how to breathe. The girl was looking at her with a raised eyebrow and she realized she was staring and didn't say anything in response.

"I..uh, I'm sorry I didn't see you coming" Emma was really nervous with this girl. She was intimidating and she had a lot of attitude. Bad attitude.

"Clearly!" The girl said, the annoyance all over her face.

"Hey, is was not only my fault! If you were looking where were you going you would have seen me and we wouldn't be spread over the floor now. So stop with the attitude and apologise like a normal person." As much gorgeous this girl was she would not let her talk to her like that. Who did she think she is?

"Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?" Her chocolate brown eyes transformed in a pool of rage, if look's could kill Emma would be SO dead. Regina and Emma got up at the same time never breaking the eye contact.

"Emma Swan!" She said with pride. "I wish I could say that it's a pleasure to meet you, but I would be lying." Emma say smirking. "and who do YOU think you are to talk to me like that?"

"Oh dear, that's one thing we agree on, and I'm sure is only." Regina's blood was almost boiling inside her. "Who do I think I am?!" She let out a laugh that didn't reach her eyes and send a shiver down Emma's spine "You're clearly new in here. My name is Regina Mills."

"Oh, so YOU are the queen?" she said in disbelief "I thought you would be more... queeny. And I definitely didn't think you stumble into people in the corridors and skip classes. Well, I'm very disappointed, your majesty" Emma spoke the last words with disdain.

Regina took a step forward, theirs chests almost touching. "You don't mess with me Swan. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

Emma's breath caught in her throat when the woman took a step toward her but she quickly recovered from it. She would not let this crazy lady see that she had a weakness. "Well, then it's on. Because, sister, YOU have no idea what I'm capable of."

They stared at each other what it seems like hours but was just for seconds. Emma finally took a step back and give Regina a bow "If you'd excuse me, Your Majesty, I need to go to class." She got up smirking at her. With a last act of courage she grabbed Regina's hand and kissed, her eyes never leaving the older girl's ones.

Regina was about to lose it and hit this petulant blonde girl in front of her. How dare she?! She was nothing, and still, Regina was about to explode with such outrage, until she felt the blonde soft lips in her hand and her heart started to pound furiously against her chest. She quickly withdrew her hand, her breathing was erratic and it looked like her heart would jump out of her chest. -_ What the hell was that?! _- she thought, -_ it was probably just my rage for this girl becoming bigger. Yeah, definitely rage. Loathe and disgust too._ - But not even her believed what her mind was saying. Regina just stood there, staring at Emma.

When Emma's lips touched the queen's hand she felt a shiver run down her spine she heard a soft gasp leaving Regina's mouth and then the hand was gone. Emma swallow hard, her mouth was suddenly dry. - _Wow, there's no way I was the only one who felt this._ - Her heart was almost making a hole in her chest and she was happy that they were no longer in each others personal space, otherwise she was sure as hell Regina would feel how her heart was beating strongly against her chest. And now, Regina was staring a her. She could see fear and confusion in the older girl's eyes and she was sure that her own eyes were expressing the same emotions now.

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Emma finally got out of her trance. -_ I have to test my theory... yeah, I will just kiss her a see what will happen. Ok... so I don't have any theory but whatever, she will never know._ - Emma took a step forward, Regina seemed to be frozen, she just couldn't stop looking at Emma's beautiful face but she managed anyway -_ Wait...What?! No, her ugly face! Very, very ugly face. There's nothing pretty in this girl. Oh my God, she is so close! -_ Regina's conscience was jumping and clapping her hands excitedly and Regina made another mental note to kill her conscience later.

Suddenly Regina felt a hand in her cheek, caressing softly, she look at Emma again, her gaze was intense. Regina move her hands and put them on the younger girl's shoulder and Emma started to lean closer. Regina closed her eyes, they were so close, she could feel Emma's breath against her mouth, then they finally kis-

"Hey, Emma!" A voice came from behind them. Regina push Emma off her so fast that the poor blonde almost fell on the ground again. When she finally regain her balance she looked at the owner of the voice and saw Ruby running toward her. "you're okay?" She said. Emma was looking around, but the brunette was nowhere to be found.

This time, Emma made a mental note to kill Ruby.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." -_ Yeah, I am great, despite the fact I was about to kiss the queen and you interrupted, ugh!_ - she mentally grunted but she gave Ruby a smile. "You actually have a great, great timing I must say..."

"Thanks," Ruby said smiling at her "I thought I could stop before she killed you. From where I was standing it look like you two were fighting, until..." -_ She was going to kiss me Damn it!_ - Just then Emma realize Ruby's last word.

"until... what?!" -_ Oh my God!_ - Emma wanted to run away from there in that second, but decided to stay, she would just had to come up with something really quick.

"until... well it look like she was going to kiss you. and you did nothing to stop her." Ruby said grinning "so, what's the deal between you too?"

"What?!" Emma's voice come out higher than she expected, so she cleared her throat and tried again. "What, no! I mean, ew. She was just, uh, threatening me and trying to choke me. I'm glad you appeared Ruby. Thank you." She gave Ruby her best smile praying that Ruby would believe her and not ask her anything more.

"uuuhmm, I will pretend to believe that" Ruby take her hand a push her toward the classroom "you are super late, let's go!"

With a sigh Emma followed Ruby. Today was gonna be a long day, but one thought made it all worth it. - _Almost -__  
_

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_**A/N 2: Ok now, don't hate me... Nothing is easy between this beautiful girls, so it wouldn't start now, would it? lol Next chapter we will meet a few more people that we already know very well. lol Rumple is not one of the teenagers, he's Neal's father. Yeah I know, I hate him too! lol And, Katheryn is David's sister.**_

_**Let me know what you think about this one. You can contact me on Tumblr dreamerforever-d or twitter daypegoraro, but if you don't have any of this just PM me or leave a Review! xo  
**_


	3. The Stranger

Be My White Knight

**_Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. It all belongs to ABC and Edward and Adam, but if I did, SwanQueen would be canon without a doubt in my heart!_**

**_A/N: Thanks for all the Follows, Favorites and the kind Reviews. You guys are awesome! And a MAGER thanks to my new Beta_**_ tonguemarksonmymirror_**_ that have the coolest pen name ever! As promissed I will love you forever. lol Thanks again and I hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think. xo_**

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_"You actually have great timing, I must say..."_

_"Thanks," Ruby said, smiling at her "I thought I could stop her before she killed you. From where I was standing, it looked like you two were fighting, until..." - She was going to kiss me, damn it! - Just then Emma realized what Ruby's last word was._

_"Until... what?!" - Oh my God! - Emma wanted to run away from there that very second, but decided to stay. She would just have to come up with something really quick._

_"Until... well it looked like she was going to kiss you and you did nothing to stop her." Ruby said, grinning "So, what's the deal between you two?"_

_"What?!" Emma's voice came out higher than she expected, so she cleared her throat and tried again. "What? No! I mean, ew. She was just, uh, threatening me and trying to choke me. I'm glad you appeared, Ruby. Thank you." She gave Ruby her best smile, praying that Ruby would believe her and not ask her anything more._

_"Uuuhmm, I will pretend to believe that" Ruby took her hand and pushed her toward the classroom "You are super late, let's go!"_

_With a sigh, Emma followed Ruby. Today was going to be a long day, but one thought made it all worth it. - Almost -_

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CHAPTER 3:_ The Stranger_

Regina had finally gotten to her locker. She put in the combination and it opened with a soft 'click'. She opened the little red door, grabbed her purse and took out her accessories and makeup. She looked at the small mirror inside the door of her locker. Her cheeks were a light shade of red, as she took a deep breath and repeated in her mind the very recent events that had transpired (not that she had forgotten or stopped think about them). Regina could still feel Emma's body so close to hers, her breath against Regina's mouth, her soft hands on her cheek, caressing her, and her eyes, oh, those beautiful blue-green eyes. They were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen. Emma Swan was going to kiss her... until that stupid waitress interrupted their moment. Regina let out a frustrated sigh and finally started to apply her makeup.

She finished five minutes later, Regina was a gorgeous woman; she didn't need much makeup to make her absolutely breathtaking. After she finished, she put the makeup and accessories back inside her purse, grabbed the chemistry book she needed for her next class, and her purse before shutting her locker door and walking to the classroom.

It was the same thing every year; the teacher would give each student a piece of paper with some stupid questions about what they had learned in the last year. Regina would finish her assignment in six minutes tops and would have nothing to do besides looking at the ceiling while her classmates finished their questions. -_ Well, at least I can think about Emma while I wait._ - Her eyes went wide from her own thoughts. "Stop thinking about her!" she whispered, like she was fighting with herself.

She was at the laboratory door now, and she was nervous. The chemistry teacher, Mr. Gold, was the only person in the school that she didn't have in her pocket. He didn't like her... He probably had always dreamed of the day when she would do something wrong and he would have to punish her. He knew her mother was a harsh woman, and a single call from him would get Regina in serious trouble. But she would try anyway; she couldn't miss two classes in one day._ Get a grip, Regina! You will walk into class like nothing is going on. Just stop thinking about that damn blonde with the beautiful eyes and you will be fine._ With that thought, she put her hand on the door knob and turned. The entire class turned to see her, but she didn't mind. She entered the room with her head held high and with a look of confidence on her face.

Regina Mills was a great actress because confidence was the last emotion she was feeling right now... she was shivering inside.

"Oh, Miss Mills. How nice of you to join us." He said with a small smile.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gold, I had some personal problems I needed to solve... I didn't mean to be late for your class." She said in a neutral tone, but her conscience was on its knees begging for mercy.

"I see... But I'm afraid you cannot watch my class today, Miss Mills. You're too late." He said with a devious smirk. _God, how I hate that little imp!_ Regina nodded slowly. He grabbed a detention paper from his desk and gave to her and she took it.

"I understand." She said and turned to leave. But when she was close to the door, she heard a voice,** HER** voice, and stopped dead in her tracks, quickly turning. There she was, looking at the professor with a determined look on her face.

_Of course she would be in the same class as me_ - Regina thought.

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Emma followed Ruby inside the bathroom and said, "So, what are you doing out of class?"

Ruby looked at her with a 'duh' face before answering "I have to pee?"

Emma just laughed at that.

"Look, I will go really fast and we can go back to class, okay?" Emma nodded and Ruby entered one of the stalls.

Emma used the time it took her new friend to follow nature's call to go to the sink and wash her face with cold water. Her cheeks were flushed and she remembered the events that just happened minutes ago. She was sure Ruby was saying something to her, but she was just too occupied thinking about another brunette with a really bad attitude. After she had washed her face, Emma put her hands on both sides of the sink and looked blankly at the mirror. She was remembering how soft Regina's skin felt under her fingers, those red lips and those liquid chocolate brown eyes, and she didn't notice that the other brunette, the one with red highlights, was standing behind her.

Ruby saw Emma looking so distractedly at the mirror that she just couldn't waste this moment. She positioned herself behind the blonde and put her mouth behind Emma's ear. "Emma!"

The blonde thought that she was going to have a heart attack right that moment. She jumped and put a hand on her chest; you know, just to be sure that her heart wouldn't make a hole and run out of her chest. She turned to look at Ruby.

"Jesus Christ, woman! Are you crazy?! You could have killed me!" Ruby was too busy laughing hysterically at her reaction.

"Would you stop laughing?! It wasn't that funny." Emma said with a sigh.

Ruby finally controlled herself enough to speak, " Oh yes, it was! You should have seen your face!" She laughed a little more before noticing that Emma wasn't pleased at all. "Sorry. I'll stop. But it WAS funny, you have to admit that!"

Emma looked at her and smiled "Maybe it was, just a little bit. But don't do it again" she said, before laughing a little herself.

They exited the bathroom and went to their class, chemistry. Right before they reached the door, Ruby stopped abruptly and Emma ran into her. "Whoa", the blonde said. "Why did you stop?"

Ruby looked at her completely seriously, "Look, Rumpelstiltskin in there is not a friendly person, so just let me do the talking, okay?! The only thing you are allowed to do is nod. Understood?

Emma looked at her like she was crazy. "Rumpels- what are you talking about, Ruby?"

"Hey, don't look at me like that! His name is Mr. Gold, but we call him Rumpel because he is really weird. I'm not sure who came with this nickname, we just call him that. He doesn't know, of course." Ruby said smiling, and then her face turned serious again. "What I do know is that you don't want to mess with him. So, let me do the talking. Do you understand?" Emma just nodded.

"Okay, let's do this." Ruby said and opened the door. She entered the room, with Emma close behind her.

They stood in the middle of the room. Ruby took a deep breath and swallowed hard before speaking. "Mr. Gold?"

The man had brown hair with some streaks of gray. He apparently also had a limp and a creepy smile. His cane was leaned against the wall where the whiteboard also was. He looked at the girls and gave them a small smile when he noticed Emma. She guessed he was just trying to be nice, but his smile was scaring her. "Yes, Miss Lucas?"

"Uh... I found Emma here kind of lost in the corridor. Today is her first day and she is in this class... Do you think she could still watch your class today?"

He seemed to be considering her proposal. His eyes were on Emma, studying her and she felt a shiver run down her spine. He was looking at her for what it seemed like ages but in less than thirty seconds, he finally spoke again. "Yes, of course. Please take a seat Miss..." He grabbed a piece of paper from his desk, probably the names of the students, and after a few seconds he said "Swan. And welcome to Storybrooke High School." He gave another one of his creepy smiles and she returned with a smile of her own. Ruby was already in her seat. Emma walked over to the only double table available and took one of the seats, close to the window, where she could breathe some fresh air. She was the only one who didn't have a partner. She turned to look at Ruby and her partner, a girl about the same age as them with honey brown hair and really beautiful deep blue eyes. Ruby whispered something in the girl's ear and she blushed and giggled. Emma smiled at the sight. The girl looked at her with a big smile and waved. Emma saw herself returning the gesture with an easy smile and a small wave for the girl.

A sound came from the door and made Emma turn. She saw her again. Regina Mills. She entered the room with a confident look on her face, but Emma saw the... was that fear? Yeah, definitely fear, in the brunette's eyes. The entire class was looking at her, but she didn't mind, she was just standing there, trying to keep her mask in place.

Emma was really good at reading people and when it came to telling when someone was lying, she was even better.

"Oh, Miss Mills. How nice of you to join us." Gold said; she couldn't see his face, but he was pleased. -_ Okay, so he doesn't like her._

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gold, I had some personal problems I needed to solve... I didn't mean to be late for your class."_ Okay so, she wasn't lying. I wonder what this personal matter was that made her miss her first class, because Emma was sure as hell what the motive was that she was late for this one._ Emma smirked at the thought, but was soon pulled out of it when she heard Rump- she meant, Mr. Gold's voice.

"I see... But I'm afraid you cannot watch my class today, Miss Mills. You're too late." _Yeah, THAT was bullshit. She didn't even have to use her superpower to see that he was lying. He wasn't letting her watch his class because he didn't want her to, not because he couldn't._ She saw Regina nod and take a piece of paper from his hands.

"I understand." she said._ She looked like she would be in serious trouble. No normal person liked school so much that they would never have skipped a class in years. Maybe there was a crazy parent behind all this... I will have to ask Ruby about this later._ The sight of Regina turning to leave the class made her blood boil._ I have to do something_, and before she knew it, she was standing and saying, "It was my fault!"

She was looking at Mr. Gold, but out of the corner of her eye she could see Regina stop and turn to look at her.

"Is that so?" He didn't look pleased with this at all. "Care to tell the class how Miss Mills being late is your fault?"

Emma bit her lower lip and swallowed before speaking." Well, uh..., I was lost searching for your class and she was passing by. I asked her if she could point me in the direction of your class, but she said she was in a hurry because she needed to go, uh..." Emma looked quickly at Regina and saw the book and the purse in her arms "go to her locker, yeah, and grab her book and her purse. I insisted, and next thing I knew, I had dropped all of my things on the floor. She helped me gather my things, and that's when Ruby appeared and offered her help. Then Reg-she, had disappeared. She went to her locker, I assumed." She turned to Ruby and gave her a confirm-my-story look.

Ruby seemed to understand the hint and got up. "Uh... Yeah, she's telling the truth. I was going to the bathroom and that's when I saw Regina helping Emma with her books, and I offered my help, then Regina disappeared."_ Ha! In your face Rumpel!_ Emma thought, trying to hide a don't-mess-with-me smile.

Ruby cleared her throat before speaking again, "Regina was just like three minutes later than Emma and you let her in, so..." She shrugged and sat down again.

_Oh my God, Ruby! You're awesome!_ Emma thought.

Silence filled the room. Every single one of the students was looking at Gold while he thought about what he would do. Gold's face was colored a dark shade of red; he was so very angry. Emma could see he was trying his best to masquerade his wrath but was failing miserably._ First day at school and I'm making the teacher almost explode with rage. Great start Emma, great start. I should get an award for this._

In the mean time, Regina was frozen in place like she couldn't believe what had just happened.

After a few minutes of complete silence, Mr. Gold finally spoke up. "You may have a seat next to Miss Swan, but make no mistake, Miss Mills, this won't happen a second time." He was looking at Regina dangerously, but Emma saw that all the fear had vanished from Regina's eyes. Now the look of confidence was real.

Regina started to walk over to the table. After Rumpel could not see her face anymore, she smiled widely at Emma for a moment. She stepped closer the table, looked over her shoulder in the direction of the professor and said "Of course, Professor Gold. Thank you", then she resumed her walk and sat by the blonde's side.

When Emma saw Regina's smile, her heart skipped a beat._ Wow, how can she be even more beautiful than the last time I saw her?! That was 10 minutes ago! And how are her teeth so white?!_ Emma got out of her reverie when the brunette sat by her side.

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The rest of the class passed full of sideways looks and accidental brushes of hands. After the whole Regina commotion, the class went by really fast. Regina and Emma never fully looked at each other after Regina smiled at her. When the bell rang, Regina casually put a folded white piece of paper in front of the blonde and left her side. Emma watched while she went to a group of friends, smiling, and left the room.

Emma picked up the piece of paper in front of her eagerly. Inside the paper, written in beautiful handwriting, were four words; simple words, but they made Emma smile.** 'Thank you, Miss Swan.'** Emma folded the paper up again and put it in her red leather jacket's side pocket.

Emma got up from her seat in time to see Ruby, the deep blue eyed girl, and two other people coming closer to her. She smiled at them. "Thank you so much for covering for me today, Ruby. You were awesome!" She said when Ruby got closer.

Ruby blushed a little at her words, "Don't mention it, it was fun! He looked like he was going to explode." All five people in the group laughed at that. Only then did Ruby realize that she hadn't introduced them to Emma. "Oh, I'm sorry. Emma this is Belle French, my girlfriend. Belle this is Emma Swan... the stranger." Emma laughed at that. "Hi Belle, nice to meet you." Emma said, extending a hand and smiling. _So that's the name of the deep blue eyed girl._ Emma thought.

"Oh, nice to meet you too, Emma." The girl shook her hand, smiling sincerely at her.

"And this is Mary Margaret Blanchard and her boyfriend David Nolan." Ruby continued.

"Hi Emma, it's nice to meet you." The tall blonde man with blue eyes said to her and shook her hand.

"You too, David."

Finally, Emma turned to the pixie haired brunette that had a giant smile on her face. Emma found herself liking the girl immediately. When she extended her hand to the girl, saying 'nice to meet you' the girl almost jumped on her, giving Emma a tight hug. "It's nice to meet you, too. Everybody is talking about you, stranger."

Emma gave a yelp from the unexpected hug, but then she returned it, laughing at the small girl's words. "Yeah, I can tell. The people can't stop looking at me. But you can call me Emma, you know?!" After they parted from the hug, the small brunette smiled at her once again and said, "You should join us for lunch, Emma! What do you think?" Emma smiled again and nodded. "Sure!" She said.

"Great!" Mary Margaret clapped her hands in excitement and giggled like a child. They all laughed at the girl's childishness.

_Maybe it wasn't a bad idea moving here._ Emma thought, looking at her new friends.

**_A/N 2: Aww, I know! I love the Relationship between Mary Margaret and Emma! I really got carried away with this chapter is the biggest yet. Next chapter we will have their lunch and we will meet some of the Regina's 'friends'. Thanks again to my new Beta _**_tonguemarksonmymirror_**_. Keep reviewing guys. I love to know what you think! xo_**


	4. The Lunch

Be My White Knight

_**Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters. It all belongs to ABC and Edward and Adam, but if I did, SwanQueen would be canon without a doubt in my heart!**_

_**A/N: Your responses have been amazing! I know we are going slowly, but when this first day is over, things will move a little faster. I just wanted to explore the first day a lot so we could know most of the characters. Thanks to my amazing beta,**_ _tonguemarksonmymirror. __**-**_ _best pen name ever! __**- and thanks to all of you who followed, favorited and reviewed. Keep the reviews coming; I love to hear what you think. If you want to ask me anything about the story, or about life, just PM me. It will be a pleasure to answer your questions. I hope you all enjoy this one. Review away! xo**_

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_Finally, Emma turned to the pixie haired brunette that had a giant smile on her face. Emma found herself liking the girl immediately. When she extended her hand to the girl, and saying 'nice to meet you' the girl almost jumped on her, giving Emma a tight hug. "It's nice to meet you, too. Everybody is talking about you, stranger."_

_Emma gave a yelp from the unexpected hug, but then she returned it, laughing at the small girl's words. "Yeah, I can tell. The people can't stop looking at me. But you can call me Emma, you know?!" After they parted from the hug, the small brunette smiled at her once again and said, "You should join us for lunch, Emma! What do you think?" Emma smiled again and nodded. "Sure!" She said._

_"Great!" Mary Margaret clapped her hands in excitement and giggled like a child. They all laughed at the girl's childishness._

Maybe it wasn't a bad idea moving here._ Emma thought, looking at her new friends._

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CHAPTER 4: _The Lunch._

A few minutes before the class was over, Regina felt that she needed to thank the blonde somehow, but her huge ego didn't allow her just to say the words. So, she just wrote a simple note for the blonde. 'Thank You Miss Swan' _I guess this is enough; she is lucky that I'm thanking her at all. I don't do that often_, she tried to convince herself. Regina folded the piece of paper and waited until she heard the bell ring, then she stood up and put the small paper in front of Emma and walked away without looking at the young girl. Kathryn and some of her other friends were waiting for her at the door. She put a politician smile on her face, just like her mother had taught her, and got closer to them. Kathryn was the first to see her; she wanted to hug her friend, because she knew what had happened. Regina told her earlier, and she knew that her friend was sad, but Kathryn knew better than to hug Regina in public and make her look fragile, so she gave her a sympathetic smile instead, while grabbing her hand and squeezing it lightly as if she were saying 'it will be okay'. Regina seemed to understand that and squeezed her hand back. She let out a small sigh, and the fake smile was back again.

They were heading for their next class. Before Regina left the room, she looked back and glanced at Emma. She was with the waitress, the two idiots, and the librarian girl. Emma laughed about something and the corner of Regina's lips twitched in a small smile. She shook herself out of her reverie and headed out of the room to her next class.

They finally got to their lunch break. After the chemistry class, everything was a blur. Regina couldn't concentrate on anything besides the blonde's motivation. She couldn't stop thinking about why Emma had done that. Why did Emma protect her? She was also surprised when the waitress confirmed the story and somehow confronted Gold. Regina was sure that Ruby didn't do that for her; she did for Emma, but it didn't change the fact that Regina totally despised her. She never treated the girl well. Ruby could have finished her right there, but she didn't. And after the way Regina treated Emma in the corridors, before the whole almost kiss thing, she could had just sat back and enjoyed while Regina was walking out the door right to the principal's office, but instead, she got up and said it was her fault. She came up with the lamest excuse Regina had ever heard, but it worked. No one had ever done something like this for her before, not Kathryn, not Daniel, not her mother, and most certainly not her father. Her father loved her very much, but he feared Cora more...

Regina was currently seated at a table, and had been looking at her salad for almost 10 minutes, lost in her thoughts. Kathryn had been calling her name for almost 3 minutes and she didn't answer; she just kept looking at the salad.

"Regina!" Kathryn said, shaking the brunette and finally gaining her attention.

"Uh? What?!" Regina shook her head and looked at her friend, who was looking at her with concern in her eyes.

"Are you ok? Do you want to tell me what happen?" Kathryn asked. They were the only ones at the table; the other ones were in line grabbing lunch.

"About what?" Regina asked innocently.

"Regina... you know what. How are things with Daniel?" Kathryn said, looking at her lovingly.

"Oh, yeah. I entered the locker room and he was sticking his tongue down a girl's throat. I grabbed the bitch by the hair and threw her on the floor, then I slapped Daniel..." She stopped and smirked "twice, and then told him it was over." Regina was speaking like these things happened everyday and it was completely normal.

"Wow. It went well then?" Kathryn said, smiling, trying to make her friend a little bit happier.

"You could say that." It seemed to work because Regina gave her a small smile.

They stayed silent for a few minutes, and then Regina's blonde friend was the first to talk again.

"So...what about the blonde? What was that about?" She said with a smirk.

"What do you mean? It happened how she said... Were you not at the class?" Regina said, raising an eyebrow and looking at her friend.

"Oh, I was there! And I saw the panicked look in your eyes when you turned around after hearing her voice. You were almost fearful about what would happen to her..." At this point Regina's cheeks were blushing. "And don't think I didn't see you looking at her before you left Gold's class." Now Regina was really blushing; she felt her cheeks burning and looked down, but it was too late. Kathryn had already seen her reaction. "Oh My God, Regina! You like her!"

"What?! N-no, of course I don't. I don't even know her, she is just another stupid girl who probably has a crush on me and decided to help. And about my 'panicked look'," Regina said, quoting with her fingers "I was merely afraid for myself, since that idiotic girl was talking nonsense to Gold. I still can't believe he fell for that." She said trying to look indifferent about the subject.

"Well Regina, you can lie to yourself as much as you want, but I know you, and I am sure you like that girl. What was her name again?"

"Emma" Regina said too quickly, and Kathryn laughed.

"Oh, so you do know her name. And you said her first name, no less. I don't remember her telling her first name while you were in the room... So Regina, can you stop with the lies and tell me what happened between you two, or do you want me to go over there and ask her myself?" Kathryn said, pointing over her shoulder. Regina looked at her in confusion before looking over her friend's shoulder. She had been so distracted with all this that she didn't even notice the blonde and her new group of friends walking in. They were seated a couple of tables behind them and Regina could see Emma's back.

"So?" Kathryn said.  
"Okay, I will tell you. But only the quick version, because the boys are coming back. I was going to my locker to apply some makeup when I bumped into her. We fell on the floor, I started to yell at her, we stood up, I invaded her personal space, we fought a little bit more, she said she had to go to class and kissed my hand in a mocking way, but... I felt something, I can't explain it right now, but it was something different. Then she pulled me closer to her and leaned forward..."

"Oh My God, did she kiss you?!" Kathryn interrupted Regina, almost yelling.

"Shh, can you keep it down?! And no, she didn't. The waitress interrupted us." Regina said, clearly irritated. "I could feel her breath in my mouth, she was so close..." She said, and then realized that she said it out loud. Her eyes were wide. Kathryn was looking at her like she had a million heads. Her mouth was wide open.

"Hey, we are back!" A voice said by Kathryn's side. Both girls looked up at the same time to see Frederick smiling at Kathryn, and Sidney by his side, almost drooling while looking at Regina.

Frederick was Kathryn's boyfriend. He was a very decent boy and Regina tolerated him because he made her friend happy. But Sidney... well, Sidney was Regina's personal lap dog. He would do anything Regina asked without a second thought. He had been in love with Regina since... well, since always, and she could use him for some 'things' she had to do sometimes.

"Hi, Regina. I bought you an apple." He said with a big smile.

Regina raised an eyebrow and made a disgusted face. She reached for the apple and put it on the table. "Thank you, Sidney", she gave him a fake smile, which he accepted cheerfully.

Frederick gave Kathryn a quick kiss and sat by her side.

Sidney sat in front of him, by Regina's side. He looked at her in the hope of giving Regina a kiss.

Regina let out an evil laugh at how ridiculous he looked and said "Don't you even think about it!"

She never felt anything for him, but sometimes she had to make small 'gestures', just to keep him under her spell. She put a delicate hand on his knee and looked at him with fake loving eyes. She saw him melt again. Then Regina had a brilliant idea. "Sidney, I need you to do me a favour." she said with a soft voice. "I need you to find everything about the new girl. Can you do that for me?" She softly squeezed his knee.

He held in a gasp and nodded. Regina smiled at him. Kathryn kicked her under the table, Regina turned sharply with a death glare toward her friend and Kathryn gave her a 'What-the-hell-are-you-doing' look. Regina just rolled her eyes and turned back to her salad.

She was finishing it when she felt that someone was looking at her. She lifted up her head to search and saw Emma with puffy red eyes, _She has been crying... If that bunch of idiots were making my Emma cry, I will end them! Wait... 'My Emma' where did that came from?! _She thought with a frown and looked up again. Emma was still looking at her, with a small smile this time, and Regina felt she was starting to blush and looked back at her salad. _Thank God there are just two more classes left and I will be free from her for today_. She thought.

"So, what do you think our PE teacher is going to do this year for the first class?! He always does something outside for the first class. Last year, just the boys had to swim in the damn cold water at the beach, while you sat and had fun watching us freezing to death!" Frederick said playfully. They all laughed. Regina just smiled. "Well, I asked him earlier today and he just said that we will need apples to make them happy. Do you know what the hell that means?" He asked. Kathryn and Sidney had no clue but Regina was smiling widely. _Finally my day will get a little better_ "We are going to the stables." she said, pleased. If there was something she loved in her life, it was riding horses, and she was very good at it.

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Emma was heading back to the table after grabbing her lunch, a grilled cheese and fries, with coke. _Yeah, that was exactly what I needed_, Emma thought. All of her new friends were already talking when she sat at the table. Apparently they were talking about her, because the moment she sat they stopped.

"What are we talking about?" Emma asked, "Or not talking about..." They were all looking at her. Emma raised an eyebrow in confusion. Ruby was the first to speak, of course.

"We were trying to understand why the hell you protected Regina. And how you can possibly like her." Ruby said, clearly not understanding. The others nodded in agreement, except for Mary Margaret.

"Look, this is none of our business. Emma has the right to like who she wants and she doesn't have to explain her motives to us." Mary Margaret said, giving Emma a small smile.

_Yeah, that's right! _Emma thought, then her brows knitted together in confusion _Wait, that's NOT right, I don't like Regina! _"I don't like Regina. Why are you even saying that?!" Emma said, trying to look like she didn't know where they would get that idea.

"Oh, really?! Then why were you almost kissing her in the hallway?" Ruby said with a grin.

"I was n-" Emma tried to argue, but Ruby interrupted her.

"Don't even think about saying that you weren't. I know what I saw, and what you said to me after was the lamest excuse I've ever heard." Ruby said and laughed a little. Emma's cheeks were red. "So, how can you like her?!"

All four of them were looking at her, waiting for an explanation. "I... I don't know, okay?!" Emma said, looking at her hands. "It's just, she infuriates me with all of her... everything. But at the same time, she is just SO beautiful, and she was going to kiss me..." She looked up at Ruby, "right?" Ruby nodded. Emma let out a sigh and felt a hand on top of her. She looked up and saw Mary Margaret smiling in understanding. "It's just confusing, you know?! I've never felt like this. Like I wanted to kill and kiss one person the same time. And it's the first day of school, for God's sake! How can I feel like this on the first day?!" Emma sighed again. "And about protecting her... when she was there with Gold, she looked really confident, but she wasn't. I could see fear in her eyes. Gold clearly didn't like her, and if I let her leave that class, I know she would be in serious trouble. That's why I helped her." They were all looking at Emma like they were melting inside. Mary Margaret's eyes were full of tears. She squeezed Emma's hand and sniffed.

Emma laughed at their compassionate faces. "Can you stop looking at me like that?!" She said, smiling. Her face got serious when she remembered the question she had for Ruby. "You said that Regina never missed a class, right?" They all nodded. "So, I was wondering… no normal person likes this school so much to come every day for years without fail. There must be some crazy parent behind this, because the fear I saw in her eyes wasn't just because of a detention. So, do you know anything about it?" Ruby, Belle and Mary Margaret shook their heads 'no' and Emma looked at David.

"David?" She said hopefully. He looked at her and really seemed conflicted. He knew something but wasn't sure if he should tell. "Please?" Emma tried again.

David sighed and said "Ok, look, my sister Kathryn is Regina's best friend. We've known her forever, as well as her parents... and her mother, well, let's just say that she would not win the award for best mother in the world. She is very harsh with Regina and I think that is one of the reasons she is the way she is today." Emma had a sad look on her face. She knew very well how an abusive parent could be. _Thank God Kevin and Sarah gave me a chance, otherwise I would probably be dead or in jail by now_ Emma thought.

"How about her father?" Belle asked, bringing Emma back to the present.

"Her father is good to her, but he doesn't do anything to stop her mother's punishment. He's just as afraid of Cora as Regina is." The three of them looked sad as David finished the story, but Emma didn't. Emma was red, but not blushing red, furious red. She just wanted to go there and kill the woman who made and was still making her Regina suffer. _My Regina... I like the sound of that._ She just wanted to go there, hold her tight, and tell her that everything was going to be okay. She just wanted Regina to know that she would not let her mother hurt her ever again. But it was too early for that. She felt Mary Margaret's hand let go of her own and put both hands on her face. She felt her wipe the tears with her thumbs, and that's when Emma noticed she was crying.

"I just don't want her to be hurt like I was. Being an orphan is not easy. Some people only take you in to get the money from the government. They don't care about your safety or if you're happy or not. Some kids, like me, were just punching bags, and some others that I met in the foster home were even raped by their 'foster parents'. That didn't happen to me, thank God, but it doesn't change the fact that after you live through things like that, you don't wish that even for your worst enemy, you know?!" Emma said, looking at her hands again.

"I just want her to be safe" Emma said in a whisper. She heard a loud sob coming from somewhere and she looked up to see all of her friends crying. Belle was sobbing with her face in Ruby's shoulder, who was crying too. Mary Margaret took one of her hands off Emma's face to wipe off her own tears, and even David was sniffing, trying his best to hold the tears in his eyes.

"Emma, it's going to be okay. Now that we know that, we will help you protect her. Would you like that?" Mary Margaret said in a calm voice. Emma just nodded, then she laughed. "God, I just ruined your lunch, didn't I?"

They all laughed at Emma's comment while sniffing and wiping their tears away. "Okay, no more tears, guys. What do we have for the next class?" Emma asked.

"Ooooo, I talked to the PE teacher today, Jefferson, and he said we are going to the stables!" Mary Margaret said. They all looked like they were expecting it, but Emma was terrified. Mary Margaret looked at Emma again and spoke excitedly. "He always does something different for the first class. Last year we went to the beach and he made the boys swim in the freezing water while the girls were sitting on the shore." They all laughed, but Emma was too preoccupied, looking terrified with the thought of riding a horse.

"Emma, are you ok? You looked pale." Mary Margaret said, putting her hand on Emma's forehead.

"I'm okay, it's just... Uh... I've never been close to a horse before, let alone ride one.." she said in a small voice.

"Oh Emma, it's ok." Mary Margaret said, smiling.

"Maybe Regina can teach you how to ride... She is an incredible rider." David continued.

"Yeah Ems, maybe you can kiss her there." Ruby said with a smirk and earned a slap on the arm from Belle.

"Don't worry Emma; we will all be there for you." Belle said with a big smile. They all nodded and Emma smiled widely.

"Thanks guys! You are the best." Emma said.

Emma looked behind Ruby and saw Regina. There was a boy sitting next to her, and she was smiling at him. Emma could see it was fake, but that didn't help the jealousy that spread inside of her. Then Regina looked at the girl in front of her and she looked mad. _That must be David's sister. Kathryn, if I'm not mistaken._ She looked back at Regina, who was looking down at her salad, lost in thought it seemed. Then Regina suddenly lifted up her head and saw Emma. They looked at each other for a moment. Regina seemed in conflict with herself, because she was frowning. Emma couldn't help but smile at how cute Regina was sometimes. The Queen looked up at her again and blushed when saw Emma smiling at her. Emma saw Regina looked down at her salad again like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

When she looked at her friends again, all of them were grinning at her. Emma blushed.

"Did she even thank you for saving her ass?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah... She gave me this note." Emma pulled the note carefully from the pocket of her red jacket and gave it to Ruby.

Ruby saw the paper and shook her head in a disapproving way. Belle caught the note, read and smiled and then Belle handed to David. Mary Margaret took from his hand to read first, and David got closer to her to read too, since he didn't have a chance.

"Well, that's a start." Mary said, smiling, while handing the note back to Emma, who was laughing at her.

Emma took the piece of paper and folded it carefully, putting it back in her jacket pocket. "Well, I think riding may be a good idea after all." She chuckled.

**_A/N 2: I'm really sorry about the wait. Sometimes life just gets in the way and shit happen. I want to dedicate this chapter to my aunt who passed away last tuesday_.**

_**A/N 3: I hope you all liked this one. Let me know what you think! Next chapter we will have Emma on a horse. Yeah, not gonna be pretty. lol :D Thanks to my Beta **__tonguemarksonmymirror __**again. You can contact me on Twitter: daypegoraro or Tumblr: dreamerforever-d - xo**_


	5. Hi-Yo, Swan

Be My White Knight

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters, It all belongs to ABC and Edward and Adam, but If I did, SwanQueen would be canon without a doubt in my heart!**

* * *

_**A/N: Thanks to my amazing Beta**_ _tonguemarksonmymirror__**, and thanks to all of you who followed, favorited and reviewed. Keep the reviews coming; I love to know what you think. If you want to ask me anything about the story, or about life, just PM me. It will be a pleasure to answer your questions. I hope you all enjoy this one. Review away! xo**_

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_Regina suddenly lifted up her head and saw Emma. They looked at each other for a moment. Regina seemed in conflict with herself, because she was frowning. Emma couldn't help but smile at how cute Regina was sometimes. The Queen looked up at her again, and blushed when she saw Emma smiling at her. Emma saw Regina look down at her salad again like it was the most interesting thing in the world._

_When she looked at her friends again, all of them were grinning at her. Emma blushed._

_"Did she even thank you for saving her ass?" Ruby asked._

_"Yeah... She gave me this note." Emma pulled the note carefully from the pocket of her red jacket and gave it to Ruby. Ruby saw the paper and shook her head 'no', Belle took the note, read it, and smiled. Belle handed it to Davi,d and Mary Margaret took it from his hand to read it first and smiled._

_"Well, that's a start." Mary said while handing the note back to Emma._

_Emma took the piece of paper and folded it carefully, putting it back in her jacket pocket. "Well, I think riding may be a good idea after all." She chuckled._

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CHAPTER 5: _Hi-Yo, Swan!_

The others two classes passed in slow motion for Regina Mills. It was almost like time was mocking her, torturing her and preventing her from doing the thing she loved most. Finally, the last bell rang and she let out a sigh of pure relief. _Finally the torture is over,_ she thought with a discreet smile. She gathered her things and walked to the door where she found Kathryn waiting for her.

"You ready?" Kathryn asked her friend with a smile, "You seem happy."

Regina nodded, "I am. Riding always makes me happy." she smiled.

"Well, let's go to the camp and wait for Jefferson then."

"I just need to put my books in my locket again and grab a change of clothes. It'll be hard riding a horse wearing this." She motioned her hand to her clothes. Regina was wearing a black skirt with a long-sleeved white silk shirt and black Louboutins.

"You will go home to change?!" Kathryn asked in disbelief.

"Of course not, Kathryn," Regina rolled her eyes, "You should know me better by now. I have clothes in my locket in case of an emergency. I think I put a pair of jeans and tennis shoes there, and a less expensive shirt." Regina passed her hand over the soft silk.

"Wow, you? Wearing jeans and tennis shoes? That's new. Thank God I'm gonna be there to see this miracle." Kathryn chuckled.

"Oh, shut up Kathryn!" Regina said playfully and smiled. She never allowed herself to play with people, but Kathryn was her best friend, so she could be playful sometimes.

Kathryn let out a laugh and said, "Okay then, Ms. I-am-prepared-to-anything, I'm gonna go to the camp to tell Jefferson why you're not there yet. We don't want another commotion involving you today, and maybe your savior can't think of another excuse to save you fast enough like last time." She said and started to walk away with a smirk, not giving Regina a chance to respond.

"She is not my savior." Regina muttered under her breath with an annoyed sigh.

Regina walked to the locker, put her books in their place and started to look for the clothes. The lockers were not big, but she was the "Queen Regina", so she managed to get a bigger locker easily enough. Regina found the dark blue jeans, the tennis shoes and a cotton black shirt. She smiled. _That will do,_ she thought, and headed for the bathroom to change.

She changed in 10 minutes tops and headed to the camp. When she got there, all her classmates were already there. She joined them and stood by Kathryn's side ignoring all of the students looking at her.  
Jefferson looked at her, smiled and clapped his hands once. "Okay, folks. As all of you know, for the first class of the year we always do something different, and this year is no different. As I can see, some of you already know where we are heading today, and even dressed appropriately Very well, for those who still have no idea where we are going, I'm going to tell you now." He stopped and smiled like a mad man. "We are going to the stables!" A gasp could be heard, and the students started to mutter things under their breaths. "Yeah, I know. So, all of you go to the bus. I know not all of you are dressed for the occasion, especially not the girls. I thought about that too and I brought several pairs of jeans, of all sizes, so there is no excuse for any of you. But some girls still have the shirt problem, and the last thing we want is the girl's 'girls' popping out. So the ones with that problem will be excused and also the ones who have some sort of trauma with horses. You will participate by giving moral support to your friends. This said, let's go have fun!" He pointed to the bus and made a 'go' gesture with his hands.

The trip to the stables was short; twenty minutes, more or less. Regina lost herself in thought in the meanwhile; she remembered the first time she rode a horse.

**_FLASHBACK_**

**Regina had turned 7, and her father said he had a special present for her. They got in the car and headed to a place Regina never been before. They got to the stables not longer after they left the house. Her father stopped the car and turned to look at her in the back seat.**

**"We are here, my little princess." He gave her a warm smile.**

**Regina giggled and bounced out of her seat and then out of the car. Her father was already waiting for her outside the car. He put out his hand and she took it immediately with a huge smile on her face.**

**They got where the horses stayed and Regina finally asked her father what she was dying to know. "Where are we going daddy? And where is my special present?" Little Regina asked, looking up, her bangs in her eyes and a big smile was on her face.**

**Henry kneeled so he could look her in the eye. He smiled widely at her and said "We are in the stables, little one. Do you know what they keep in the stables?" Regina frowned thinking about it for a moment, but she gave up after a few moments and shook her head 'no'. "What is it Daddy? Is it my present?"**

**Little Regina's father laughed at her cuteness "Yes, sweetheart." He picked her up in his arms and stopped in front of a stall, where a big black stallion put his head out. Henry watched Regina's eyes sparkle in excitement. She started to jump in his arms and he laugh again. "Is he mine daddy?" She asked with such hope in her eyes that it made Henry's heart melt. "Yes, he is." Regina raised one hand to pet the horse on the head and he made a noise, clearly appreciating the gesture.**

**"So, Regina. What is his name going to be?" Henry asked the little girl bouncing in his arms.**

**Regina frowned again, looking at her special gift, clearly thinking about the right name. Her eyes lit up even more when she made her mind. "Rocinante! His name is Rocinante, daddy." The black horse in front of them whinnied happily, making little Regina giggle.**

**"That's a beautiful name, Regina. You want to ride him?" Regina's eyes filled with happy tears. She nodded and extended her other hand to hug Rocinante's neck. He pushed her closer with his head on her shoulder, like he was hugging her back.**

**Regina spent the rest of the afternoon of her birthday riding Rocinante. Her father asked her not to tell her mother about the horse because she would be mad. Regina knew better than to let her mother get upset about anything, so she didn't tell her.**

**Cora found out about her little adventures with Rocinante. She seemed to know everything Regina did, but fortunately after Cora 'grounded' Regina, in her way, for lying to her, she allowed Regina to take classes in order to learn how to properly, in her words, "ride like a lady". And Regina was okay with that; at least she could ride her beloved horse.**

**_FLASHBACK_**

"Regina?" Kathryn was calling her, but Regina was lost in her thoughts. "Regina, come back to earth, we're here." Kathryn said, shaking her by the shoulders and finally getting her attention.

"Oh, sorry. I was lost in my thoughts for a moment." Regina said, blinking a couple of times and shaking her head lightly. "You said that we're here?" Kathryn nodded and grabbed her hand to push her out of the bus.

_I really got lost in my thoughts; I missed the whole trip to the stables_. Regina thought.

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They were all gathered in front of the horses' stalls, waiting for further instructions. Jefferson finally came and told them what to do. "So guys, the people who have to change clothes, go to the pile over there" he pointed to a table full of jeans on top, "The ones that are not going to ride today, please find a place to sit and relax. And, last but not least, the ones that already have everything to ride just go over there and pick a horse. They are already saddled so we won't lose time. Now go!" He said shooing us away.

Regina knew exactly where to go. The only other girl with her was Emma. She looked terrified, Regina noticed, but was trying her best not to show it.

She was failing.

Regina went to Rocinante's stall and he immediately came over to her, nuzzling his nose against her hand. She smiled, opening the stall, and pushed him out to the reins, and then headed to the field. She saw Emma was already there with her own horse. Her horse was beautiful. She had golden fur and a blonde mane, and was as big as Rocinante. The perfect horse for Emma. _She really is a remarkable creature._ Regina thought, but she wasn't sure if she meant the horse or the one who was holding the reins with shaking hands.

"Okay folks, the ones who already have their horses here can mount and ride away. Have fun! Regina, can I talk to you for a minute?" Jefferson asked as he approached her. Regina nodded. "The new girl, Emma, she doesn't seem too familiar with horses, and I know you've been riding horses since you were a kid, so, can you teach her the basics?"

Regina gave a irritated sigh, but nodded. _And here was I thinking that the rest of my day would be calm and relaxing. Damn that Swan!_ Regina thought while walking toward her.

"Thanks Regina." She heard the professor said to her back.

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Emma was trying to calm down while walking to the football field. David, Mary Margaret, Belle and Ruby were trying to calm her down. Well, David, Mary Margaret and Belle were trying to help her, Ruby was just saying how big a horse was and how he could easily eat half of her arm in one bite. Ruby was definitely not helping at all.

Emma had never been close to a horse in her entire life. She was a city girl, and in the city, the closest you get to a horse is your neighbor's German shepherd. She only had seen horses on TV, and even seeing them on the other side of the screen, she was afraid of them. But she was Emma Swan, and there was no chance in hell that she was going to chicken out and be the punchline of the jokes at school on her first day. _I mean, how hard can it be? It seemed pretty easy on TV; you just get on the horse, pull that rope a little, make some noises with your mouth, and the horse will walk. Easy enough for me._ Emma smiled at her thought. If she only knew how wrong she was...

She was in the field with apparently all the other students, but she noticed that a certain brunette wasn't there. David's sister was coming closer to the group. She stopped by David's side, looking at the teacher.

"I'm sorry Jefferson, Regina is coming; she is just changing clothes. She already knows where we are going." Kathryn said, smiling.

Jefferson didn't seem too bothered by that; he was kind of mad. Nobody really knew how he managed to get this job, but he did and here he was now.

"Well, while Regina is not here, I'm going to introduce myself. I see that there is a new person with us today." He said, looking at Emma and smiling. "It's very nice to meet you, young lady. I'm Jefferson and I'm going to be your PE teacher during this amazing year to come." He said, bowing his head. He grabbed Emma's hand and kissed it softly. Emma chuckled, looking at the mad man in front of her. She also bowed while grabbing the sides of her invisible dress and said, "It's very nice to meet you too, Jefferson. I'm Emma and I'm sure I will enjoy your class during the year." She said in a princess tone, calm and soft, while smiling.

"I like you Emma" He said laughing, then he stopped and his attention turned to someone behind her. Emma noticed and turned to look as well, and then all the students were looking in same direction. Regina's direction. _Is she wearing jeans and sneakers?! Wow, she should wear them all the time, she looks gorgeous!_ Emma thought while looking at Regina, until she stopped by Kathryn's side. She ignored her, like she had been doing since the Gold Incident, and she didn't mind, with the entire class looking at her. Again, she didn't mind all the attention. Emma was brought back by Jefferson's voice. He revealed what they would do and sent them to the bus.

Emma got on the bus and Ruby sat by her side, much to Emma's dislike. She knew that Ruby was going to terrify her about the horse thing. "So Emma, are you excited?" She asked.

Emma looked at her, narrowing her eyes "Oh, I'm super excited. After all you said to me about how a horse can eat my head or how I can break my skull if I fall of a horse, excited is the right word to describe me right now." Ruby laughed at Emma.

"Hey, calm down tiger, I was just teasing. I think you will be fine. You just have to relax, and if you don't want to do it, you could always say that to Jefferson. I'm sure he won't make you go, if he knew you'd never been on a horse before." Ruby said, trying to calm her nerves now. She realized that Emma was indeed freaking out about riding a horse and she felt bad for teasing her.

"No! I don't want to chicken out on my first day here... I'm gonna do it. How hard can it be?!" Emma said, trying to look tough, and trying to convince herself of what she said.

"Yeah, it's not that hard... and in any case we will be there for you. I mean, to give you support, because I'm not gonna jump on that thing, and neither will Belle or Mary Margaret. We will tell him that we have trauma. We always find a way to get out of the first class of the year." Ruby laughed, "But yeah, we will give you strength, from the security of the ground." She smiled widely at Emma. In Ruby's mind, she was sure that she was helping Emma.

Emma looked at her wide eyed "Are you kidding me?! How are you supposed to help me from the ground, Einstein? I'm gonna be on a horse. What will you do... cheer?!" Emma threw her hands in the air, "I can't believe you're gonna leave me to die on top of that monster!"

Ruby laughed more at the girl's drama. "Look,stop with the drama. We will get Regina to teach you how to ride properly. We will tell Jefferson that you've never ridden before, but wanted to try, and we will suggest that Regina teach you, because she is the best rider here." Ruby winked at her before continuing, "This way you two can get some alone time." Ruby grinned and bumped her shoulder into Emma's.

Emma couldn't help but smile at Ruby's plan. _It's a really good plan, it can work._ "Okay, I think I can forgive you guys for abandoning me. It's kind of a good plan, Rubes." She smiled.

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They finally got to the stables. Jefferson asked them to gather again and explained how it would work. Long story short, the ones with trauma, or false trauma, would be doing nothing, the ones who would ride but couldn't because were not wearing jeans, would change in the jeans that Jefferson had bought and the ones who were already in the appropriate clothes would just pick out a horse and bring it to the field and ride away.

Emma was wearing blue jeans, a white tank top and her red leather jacket, so that meant she was ready to ride. Emma went to the stalls, like she was told to, so she could find her horse. She passed some stalls and out of nowhere, a blonde horse poked its head out of the stall. Emma jumped at the action; she was not prepared for that. The horse started to make noises, like it was laughing at her. _Damn horse, just like Ruby._ After she was able to control herself, she looked at the horse again and realized that it was beautiful. She had made her choice; now she just had to take the horse to the field, and she had no idea how to do that.

"Okay blondie, I'm gonna enter now, don't be scared. I'm not gonna hurt you." Emma said with her hands in front of her in a calming manner. _Pff, of course I'm not gonna hurt the horse! Even if I wanted to, look at the size of this thing. Please God, don't let the horse eat my arm._ Emma pleaded to whatever God that was listening to her.

She opened the door of the stall and entered slowly, taking small steps toward the huge animal in front of her. Emma got close enough so she could touch the gold furred horse; she extended her hand to touch it when the horse moved close to her. "Shit!" Emma said, scared of the horse's movements and took quick steps backwards, falling into a bunch of straw in the corner of the stall. "Damn it!"

The horse looked at her again and started to make sounds, laughing at her again. "Oh, shut up!" Emma said while getting up and taking some straw out of her hair. "Okay listen, I know you're having fun, but I really want to impress this girl and if you don't help me I won't be able to do it. So, please, can you help me?" Emma said, almost begging the horse. _Jesus, I'm talking to a horse! This town is not good for me! _She was thinking, but was brought back when the monster was close to her again. The horse looked over its shoulder. There was a loose rein there. Emma understood the message. She got close again and extended her hand one more time. "Do you want me to get the rope?" The blonde girl asked, and the horse nodded. Emma smiled and grabbed the rein. "Okay then. Let's go, Blondie." Emma started to walk but the horse didn't. She looked at the horse with a puzzled face. "What is it, Blondie?", The horse whinnied at her and pointed his head to the saddle. Emma got closer and saw the name 'Argo' in it. "Oh, so your name is Argo!" Emma laughed. "Like Xena's horse. You look like Xena's horse too." Emma said. Argo seemed happy with her comment and started to walk out of the stall, pulling Emma with her.

Emma went to the field feeling confident. _I'm like the Queen of Horses!_ She smiled at how stupid that sounded. She looked at her friends sitting under a tree, looking at her in surprise, seeing her walking so confidently with her horse. She waved at them, proud of herself.

Emma and Argo stopped close to the others; there weren't as many people as before. Emma presumed that the others were already riding out there. She saw some people getting on the horses; they looked clumsy, and Emma chuckled. Argo joined her. She petted the animal's neck, feeling that they would make a good pair. She spotted Regina. Jefferson was talking to her. _Showtime_ she thought. "Hey, Argo? That's the girl I was talking about." Emma said, as close to the horse's ear as she could get. "She is beautiful, isn't she?"Argo nodded and Emma laughed.

Apparently Regina's talk with Jefferson had come to an end because she turned and she started to walk toward them with her big black horse. "Okay Argo, you have to help me here." Emma whispered to the blonde horse just before Regina stopped in front of them.

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"Miss Swan," Regina said with a fake smile. She was pissed. "Our professor seemed to realize your lack of ability with the horses and asked me to help you with it."

Emma smirked at how beautiful Regina seemed when she was angry. "Well, I don't know why he would think that..." Emma said, faking innocence. "but if he insisted, I don't think it would be that bad to have a few lessons."

Regina laughed, "Oh, neither do I, you definitely are very skilled with horses.", the brunette rolled her eyes. "Shall we begin? I still intend to ride my horse this century." She smirked.

"Ha Ha, very funny, Your Majesty." Emma said. She could tell that Regina was getting angrier by the minute, and as much as she loved making the brunette angry, this would not help her get the girl's sympathy. "Okay, let's get this over with. What do I do?" Emma said. Argo didn't seem to like being ignored, so he pulled Emma by the shoulder to show she wanted to be introduced properly. Emma let out a sigh, looked at Regina and said, "Oh, how rude of me. This is Argo." Then Emma looked back at Argo, "Argo, this is Regina Mills." The horse nodded her head.

Regina smirked when the horse pulled Emma. _Oh, I liked this horse._ When the horse nodded to her after Emma introduced them, Regina reached toward the horse's head and pet him with a wide smile. "Well, nice to meet you Argo. This," she said pointing at the black horse, "is my horse. Rocinante. Rocinante, this is Argo and Miss Swan."

"Emma." She said, getting closer to Rocinante to pet him. Emma thought she would lose her hand at that moment, but Rocinante let her pet him and actually nuzzled her closer. Emma had a huge smile on her face. _At least her horse likes me_. She thought.

_That's weird, Rocinante never let anyone touch him but me, and look at him now, like he's known her his whole life. _Regina tilted her head to look at the scene. _They are actually really cute together._ Regina cleared her throat and pulled Rocinante's reins, making him walk away from the blonde.

Emma's smile only grew as Regina pulled the horse away from her. "If you are jealous I can pet you too."

"Don't be ridiculous! I don't want you to pet me nor am I jealous of him." Regina said, blushing a little, but she preferred to think the red in her cheeks was from anger. "Let's just start with this." Regina said. "I'm gonna mount him and I want you to watch me and try to do the same. Can you do that?" Regina said smirking.

"Oh, please, stop. I'm gonna die from laughing so hard." Emma said seriously. "Just do it, Regina"

"Okay." Regina put her feet in the stirrup and mounted her horse with ease. "Now go." She said, motioning for Emma to do the same.

Emma looked at Regina mounting. Well, she was actually looking at how hot she was in those jeans while Regina mounted. _It can't be that hard. I just have to put my foot in that thing and jump. Easy enough._ Emma smirked at Regina; sure she was going to do it like a pro. She put her foot in the stirrup and jumped. She sat in the saddle... half a second before she slipped and landed on her face. Argo started to make sounds again, laughing at her and she sighed.

Regina couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Wow, your skills are truly impressive."

Emma got up from the floor while thinking, _Way to go Emma! You are an idiot!_ "Okay, I'm gonna do it this time!" Emma did the same thing two more times before she felt two hands on her body, one on her arm and the other holding her waist.

Regina, seeing how ridiculous Emma was making herself look, decided to finally help the blonde. She got off of Rocinante and went to the blonde. "Look, it's really easy." She said softly. Regina pitied the young girl. "You hold the reins and the horn at the same time, and then you put your left foot in the stirrup and push yourself up gently, and then put your right foot in the other stirrup. Got it?"

Emma swallowed hard, feeling really nervous at Regina's proximity, but listened to her. She cleared her throat, "Yeah, I think I got it." She felt Regina's hands let go of her. Emma took a deep breath and did as Regina said. Emma almost lost her balance but she managed to stay on Argo. "Oh my God, I did it!" she said, looking at Regina and smiling.

Regina smiled back at her, feeling really proud of the blonde. "Yes, you did it. Congratulations. Now let's walk." Regina mounted Rocinante again and looked at the blonde. "Now, to make the horse walk you just have to loosen the reins a little and tap your feet at the horse's side gently. Look." She did as she said and Rocinante started to walk. "And to stop, you simply pull the reins a little bit and the horse will stop." She did, and again Rocinante obeyed her command. "Simple as that. Now you try."

Emma was feeling like a true cowgirl now. She did exactly as Regina taught her, and Argo walked and then stopped when she pulled the reins. She couldn't stop smiling and she couldn't help but show off for Regina. They started to walk through the woods slowly. _That's my chance, she is gonna love it._Emma thought. "Look, Regina! No hands." Emma had let go of the horn and the reins and put her hands up, smiling at Regina. Argo felt the difference in the reins and started to walk faster and faster. Emma almost fell off Argo; she hugged her neck and accidentally tapped her feet protectively a little too firmly in Argo's side. That's when it happened. Argo started to run like crazy. "Reginaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, heeeeeeeeeeelp" Emma was screaming, her face buried in Argo's neck. _Oh my God, I'm gonna die! _She thought.

Regina watched the whole scene with wide eyes. She started to run after Emma and Argo as fast as Rocinante could go. When she got close enough, she yelled at the blonde. "Emma! Grab the reins and pull!"

Emma heard someone yelling at her; she knew it was Regina, but she couldn't understand what she was saying and she sure as hell wouldn't lift her head just to fall off and break her neck, so she screamed against Argo's neck. "Whaaaaaaat?!"

Regina was getting angry. "THE REINS, YOU IDIOT. PULL THE REINS!" Regina managed to yell louder.

This time Emma listened to her. But she pulled the reins too abruptly, making Argo stop suddenly and send Emma flying forward. "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!", was what she said before landing on the ground. She couldn't move. Even the smallest movement seemed like torture.

"Emma!" Regina yelled, watching Emma fly and land on the ground, unmoving. Regina jumped off of Rocinante and ran close to the blonde, kneeling. "Emma, are you okay?! Oh God, please tell me you are okay!" Regina said, caressing the blonde's hair and face.

Emma hissed in pain as Regina's hands shook her lightly. "Ouch! I'm alive, but definitely not okay." Emma reached for Regina's hand and pulled her to the ground next to her. She chuckled but hissed in pain again _Damn, it hurts even when I laugh. _"Just cuddle with me."

Regina's eyes went wide. "Miss Swan, if my clothes get all dirty, I will send you the bill for the dry cleaner." She said bitterly, but made no motion to get up.

Emma smiled, noticing that Regina was not moving. "I think I will risk it." Emma moved her arm around Regina's shoulder and pushed her closer slowly, so Regina's head would be on Emma's chest.

Regina put a hand on Emma's chest, feeling her heart beating rapidly. "You scared me." Regina said, looking up at green eyes. "When you didn't move, I thought you were unconscious."

"So you admit you care about me?" Emma said, smiling down at Regina.

"I said no such a thing! I simply said you scared me. Can you imagine in how much trouble I would be if yo-" Regina couldn't finish because Emma's lips were on hers.

Emma's lips moved slowly against the brunette's. Emma pushed Regina so she was on top of her. Regina's hands were on the blonde's face. They were taking their time. Emma parted her lips and ran her tongue over Regina's bottom lip. Regina parted her lips when she felt Emma's tongue and moaned when they touched.

Emma's kiss was like a drug; she couldn't stop kissing her, but air became necessary and they stopped. Regina was staring at bright green, (or were they blue?), eyes.

Emma smiled at her, and Regina couldn't help but smile back.

"I waited for this kiss the whole day." Emma said with her hands on Regina's waist.

"Well, I think it was worth the wait." Regina said, caressing Emma's cheek with her thumb.

Suddenly Argo and Rocinante started to neigh.

Regina got up and held out a hand to help Emma to her feet too. When Emma was able to get up without whining like a child, Jefferson arrived, mounted on a horse.

"Everything okay here?" He asked, looking between the two girls.

"Yes, Miss Swan had an accident and fell off Argo." Regina said; her mask fully in place again. The girl Emma had just kissed was gone.

"But I'm okay now, Regina helped me." Emma said, looking at Regina's eyes.

"Okay then. I think it's time to go home for you, Emma. Regina, you can still ride if you want, I will take Emma back to the stables." Jefferson said.

"Thanks." Regina said simply. She mounted on Rocinante once again and rode away.

Emma looked at the girl's retreating form and sighed. "Sure you're okay?" Jefferson's voice brought her back from her thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just want to go home and eat steak with painkillers." Jefferson chuckled. "Okay. Get up on your horse and let's head back." the professor said.

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The whole way back to the stables and home was full of thoughts. _Did Regina regret our kiss? Why did she act like that? Was she embarrassed about being with me? Maybe she was just confused- oh, who do I want to fool? She will probably never talk to me again._ She sighed in defeat.

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Regina's head could not be more confused. She rode Rocinante for another half an hour before heading back to the stables and joining the rest of the class. Emma was nowhere to be seen. Regina assumed she had gone home early due to her accident. The kiss was everything Regina could expect, maybe even more. Emma's lips were soft and she was gentle. _Why did I act like that? I hurt her, I could see it in her eyes. Maybe I should talk to her, or maybe I should just pretend it never happened. I got what I wanted, I kissed her. Now I won't think about her anymore. I did it out of curiosity, nothing more. Now it's over. I will be fine, I will be fine._ Regina repeated the last words many times in her head, trying to convince herself they were true.

* * *

_**A/N 2: Finally the first day is over. Wow, a lot happened in just one day, right?! Well, tomorrow is a new day and more shit is gonna happen. I hope you liked this one. You can contact me on Twitter:**__daypegoraro_ _**or Tumblr: **__dreamerforever-d__**. Thanks again for all the kindness, you are awesome. xo**_


	6. Dark Side

Be My White Knight.

**_Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters, It all belongs to ABC and Edward and Adam, but if I did, SwanQueen would be canon without a doubt in my heart!_**

**_A/N: Hello guys! First of all, I'm sorry. Second, I'm sorry and third… did I say I'm sorry? Really guys, I am. My computer was not working and I almost lost everything in it. Luckily for me, my dad's friend did a backup for me and fixed the problem. Now I'm back and I'm gonna try to post the next chapter as fast as I can. :)_**

**_A/N 2: This chapter was written with the help of my beta and best friend _**_tonguemarksonmymirror_**_. She wrote Regina's part in this chapter. Go tell her how awesome she was writing it. And tell me too. Reviews are ALWAYS appreciated. Enjoy. 8)_**

_Chapter 6: Dark Side._

_There's a place that I know  
It's not pretty there and a few have ever gone  
If I show it to you now  
Will it make you run away_

_Or will you stay  
Even if it hurts  
Even if I try to push you out  
Will you return?  
And remind me who I really am  
please remind me who I really am_

_Everybody's got a dark side  
Do you love me?  
Can you love mine?  
Nobody's a picture perfect  
but we're worth it  
you know that we're worth it  
will you love me?  
Even with my dark side?_

_Dark Side - Kelly Clarkson_

Emma got home feeling numb and sore. Numb because of the way Regina acted after their kiss and sore; well, she was sore because of that damn horse. But if it wasn't for Argo running like crazy, she and Regina probably would never have kissed in the first place. _Xena would be proud of you, Argo. _Emma thought smiling.

The blonde was standing at the door of the ridiculously big house her parents had bought. They were lawyers back in Boston and had their own law firm. Sarah couldn't have children of her own; that's why the couple decided to adopt her. Why they adopted **her,** she didn't know. She was not friendly or sympathetic when they were in the foster home. In the beginning, when she was little, she would be as cute as possible to her possible new parents, but as time went by and the couples picked her just to send her back a few weeks later, she started to just not give a fuck. _Maybe that's why they liked me. I was just being myself. _With that thought, the blonde girl entered her new house.

Kevin was sitting in the living room watching some baseball. "Hey you. How was the first day in school?" He asked, smiling.

Emma sat by his side on the couch, looking at the TV and sighed.

"That bad?" Kevin asked with a smile.

Emma looked at him and gave a small smile. "It was ok."

"Just ok?"

"Yeah, I mean, I met some really cool people and we are friends already." Emma said, smiling and looking at her feet.

"And why do I have the feeling that this is not all that happened today?" he said and squeezed her leg in encouragement "You can tell me. What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's silly." Emma said, shifting in her seat uncomfortably.

"It's not. If it were just a silly thing you wouldn't be upset about it. Em, you are a tough girl, you don't get upset about just anything."

"Okay, you asked for it. The first class was super boring and the highlight of the class was when some girl didn't show up. After the first class, I got lost looking for the second one and almost ran into the girl that didn't show up for class, who happened to be the most beautiful and yet the bitchiest and cockiest person I have ever met. We argued, then I almost kissed her, and she did nothing to stop me, but one of my new friends appeared, and Regina just disappeared…" Emma trailed off, remembering the moment again. After a few moments, she spoke again. "Anyway, Ruby, my new friend, and I went to class, and the professor let me in. He is creepy. Five minutes later, Regina entered the class and he started to throw some bullshit at her, telling she couldn't be in his class because she was late, but I was late and he let me in, and she had this look at her face…" Emma sighed. "Next thing I knew, I was standing in the middle of the class, lying to the man so he could let her stay in his class. Ruby confirmed my story, so he couldn't say no, but seriously, I thought his face was gonna melt; he was really red." The girl chuckled."After that, she sat next to me; it was the only seat available. When the class ended, she gave me a note saying thank you." She smiled and grabbed the small piece of paper in her jacket pocket, showing her father. "After that, Ruby introduced me to her friends and girlfriend. They are all really nice people. Well, we had two more boring classes, lunch, more boring classes and the last one." Emma paused dramatically. "PE. Apparently the PE teacher prepares something special for the first class of the year. This year was horseback riding."

Kevin let out a loud laugh. "You? Riding horses? Oh, damn, I would've liked to be there to see it."

Emma smiled, shaking her head, and shoved him playfully on the shoulder. "Hey! I was not that bad. Regina helped me with the horse stuff. I was going really well actually, until I let go of the reins, trying to impress her, and the horse started to run like his ass was on fire. Regina yelled at me to pull the reins and I did." Emma sighed.

"Well, what happened after that?!" He asked, curious.

"The horse stopped and I was sent flying before I hit the ground... on my face."

At this point, Kevin's face was red from trying to hold in his laughter. He put both hands over his mouth, but it was to no avail. He burst into laughter. Emma stared at him, serious, but soon started to laugh too. "It wasn't funny, dad." Emma said when she managed to control herself. "It hurt. My body hurts like hell and my hands and knees are all scratched, but it was worth it." Emma said with a smirk.

The blonde's father finally stopped laughing when he heard Emma's last words. "Why? What happened next?!" He was looking at her like a child hearing a story for the first time; anxious to know what happened next.

"She kneeled beside me, and she had this worried look all over her face. I assured her I was ok, just a little sore from the fall, and hugged her."

"What? You just hugged her? Oh, come on." Kevin looked really upset and Emma laughed.

"Would you let me finish?!" She lifted one eyebrow in question, and her father nodded, excited that it wasn't the end of the story. "Well, after I hugged her she started to mumble something about a dry cleaner and her clothes getting dirty. She said that I scared her; she was actually concerned about me, and I asked her if that meant she cared about me," Emma chuckled.

"Don't stop!" Kevin said eagerly, "I can feel that the good part is coming."

"Okaaay. I asked her if that meant she cared about me and she said no and started to lie about how she would be in trouble if I get hurt, but I didn't let her finish and I kissed her. It was awesome. She kissed me back the same second; she didn't even pretend she didn't want it." Emma said, proud of herself, but then her face fell.

"What is it?" The older man said and put a hand on her back, rubbing it softly.

"The teacher appeared. He didn't see us kissing, but then Regina... It was like she turned into another person, into the bitch that bumped into me in the hallway. She became all cold and distant, and after explaining what had happened to the professor, practically ran out of there on her horse. Do you think she regretted it?" Emma looked at her father, sadness evident in her eyes. Kevin gave her a small smile. "I don't know Emma. But I think if she didn't want to kiss you she wouldn't have kissed you back, or she could simply had told the teacher that you assaulted her. She didn't, right?!"

Emma shook her head 'no'. Kevin smiled. "Maybe she was just confused with all that happened. It's a lot for just the first day of school. Why don't you try to talk to her tomorrow? She is the only one who can answer your question, my princess." He gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"You are right, dad. I will talk to her tomorrow then. Thank you." She hugged him tightly before saying in a shy voice, "I love you."

He squeezed her a little, showing that he appreciated her words. "I love you too, kid."

After they parted, Emma sniffed while Kevin wiped his eyes. Emma cleared her throat uncomfortably before saying "I'm, uh, going to my room now..." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder toward the stairs.

"Yeah, okay." He said after also clearing his throat. "I will let you know when dinner is ready."

" 'Kay, thanks dad" With that, she left and ran up the stairs.

"No running in the house!" She heard Sarah yelling from downstairs.

"Sorry." She yelled back, smiling, and entered her room.

Her room was big, like the rest of the house. She had a walk-in closet next to her queen-sized bed, two wooden bedside tables, a study table, with an expensive computer on it in the corner of the room, and a bathroom with her own bathtub. She also had a TV on the wall in front of the bed, and below the TV on a shelf, an Xbox, a Blu-Ray DVD Player and some movies and games.

This was much, much better than anything she had in the foster home or the 'other parents' houses, and once again, Emma found herself thanking whatever God was listening for Sarah and Kevin.

The girl jumped on the bed and sighed. There were still a few hours until dinner so she decided a bath was in order after her incident with Argo. Sighing again, she got up and went for a hot bath.

After an hour, Emma emerged from the bathroom in only a white towel. She was more relaxed and most importantly, clean. She looked at the clock on her bedside table. **5:35 pm **_Dinner should be ready at eight. I think I'm gonna take a little nap while I wait. _She nodded and smiled to herself and put one of her tank tops; a purple one, and Spider-Man panties and slipped under the warm sheets. She fell asleep within minutes.

Regina's plan had been to head straight to the shower after getting home from the stables, and thus avoid her mother as long as possible. She got as far as the kitchen before the sound of someone clearing their throat loudly denied her the luck and the opportunity to get away. Turning around, she saw her mother sitting at the counter. Her arms were folded as she observed her daughter calmly, having waited a while for this. They stared at each other, neither willing to be the first to cave and talk.

Finally, Cora spoke up. "Where have you been, Regina? Your classes ended two hours ago."

Regina sighed. "I know, mother, but we went to the stables for gym. You know that mad gym teacher likes to do something different for the first class every year, and it takes forever to get back from the stables." Cora nodded.

"And yet, that's not the class I want to discuss with you. Your chemistry teacher called me earlier. Told me you were late to his class today. I got to have the indescribable pleasure of telling him that my daughter is not some delinquent who skips classes and is negligent about her education. Now, you get to do the same. Explain." Cora motioned her toward a chair, and Regina headed towards it slowly, but changed her mind at the last minute, choosing to remain standing instead.

"Mother, I was only a couple minutes late! My locker jammed, and I couldn't go to class without my books! Gold's being irrational. He hates me, mother. He just waits for me to slip up, and then he pounces on me. It's like he wants to destroy me."

Cora stood rapidly and faced her daughter. "Don't you dare speak about your teachers like that!" She hissed. "They are there to prepare you for your future. You can't blame them for your lack of preparedness. How do you expect to get anywhere in life, Regina, if you can't even take responsibility for your own actions? You were late to the class. Your chemistry teacher didn't make you late; you did that to yourself. The sooner you learn to own up to your mistakes, the better."

"But mother, I didn't do anything wrong! My locker jammed! I wasn't being neg-" Slap! The impact resounded around the room. Regina rubbed her cheek, sore and beginning to redden. A single tear trailed down her cheek, stinging the wound instead of soothing it.

"I will have no more of your insolence." Cora said in a low, dangerous voice. "You know what you did wrong. You should have brought your books with you. That is what competent people do. I didn't sacrifice my peaceful life in order to have my daughter turn out to be a failure like the rest of our no-good family. How do you expect to get to Harvard if you keep acting like this?"

By now, the tears were streaming silently down Regina's face. She shook with restrained emotion; rage and sadness, cowardice and bravery. Finally, she spoke.

"Have you ever considered, mother, that maybe I don't want to go to Harvard? Maybe I don't want to be a lawyer, like you. Maybe I don't want to get ahead in the world by being cruel and selfish and treating others like they're nothing. Maybe I don't want to be you."

Silence echoed around the room. Cora looked away, shocked. Feeling satisfied, Regina turned away to leave, but Cora caught her by the wrist before she could move, grabbing her tightly.

"Don't ever let me catch you speaking like that again, you insolent girl. You think you control your life? You're wrong. I do. You're mine, Regina, to do with as I please. And I say that you are going to work harder than you ever have in your life; not like that's difficult, to get yourself to law school at Harvard. One more mistake like this, and there will be serious repercussions. Have I made myself clear?" Cora whispered, as calmly as death.

The entire time, Regina was struggling against her grip, feeling her circulation get cut off and Cora's thumb press painfully into her veins. But she couldn't resist any longer. Her wrist slacked in her mother's grip, falling limp toward the ground.

"Yes, mother. It won't happen again." Cora smiled, a sickly sweet smile, and finally let go of her wrist. A bruise had begun to form, darkening to an unsightly blue.

"Good girl. Now go wash up for dinner, and don't be late."

\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o /\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o /\o/\o/\o/

Emma's phone started to ring and vibrate by her side. She groaned and then frowned. _This is the sound of my alarm, but it can't be I didn't sleep the whole night, did I?_ Finally finding her phone under the sheets, she opened her eyes for the first time. She turned the alarm off and then looked at the time: **7:32 am. **_Oh fuck, I'm gonna be late for school._ Emma jumped out of bed and ran for her closet. She swiftly put on dark blue jeans, a bra and grabbed her black leather jacket. She decided to go with the purple tank top she was already wearing. Looking in the mirror, she nodded at her reflection and went to the kitchen. Sarah was sitting on one of the stools, drinking what seemed to be orange juice and reading the paper. She looked up at Emma and smiled. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. I thought you were sick. You've never slept so much before; maybe a ride should cure that. What do you think?" Sarah said, chuckling. "Of course he told you about the horse." Emma said, fake annoyed. "It must have been really funny." The brunette said. "It was a little." Emma said, smiling at her mom. She grabbed some juice and put in a glass. Emma glanced at the kitchen clock. **7:46 am**. "Damn it, I'm gonna be late for school. Gotta go, talk to you later, mom." Emma said, grabbing her backpack and drinking all the juice in one go. "At least take a piece of toast." Sarah said and threw her one. Emma caught it easily. "Thanks mom. Bye" Emma said going to the front door. "Have a good day, I love you." Emma looked at her with a mouth full of toast. "I lfoafve you ftoo." and then she was out of the house. Sarah was left laughing at her daughter's childishness.

Emma left the house and ran for her bike. She had probably ten minutes to get to school now and she wasn't sure if she could make it. She went as fast as she could, her legs burning from all the pedaling, but she didn't stop. _I really need to get more exercise._ When Emma got to the school a few minutes later, she was breathing heavily; her hair was a mess because of the wind and she could barely walk because of the pain in her legs, but she was there, and she was on time. She smiled to herself while looking at the time in her phone. **7:58 am**. _Yes!_, she thought, mentally patting herself on the back. She walked toward the class, finding it easily, thank God, and entered the class. All the students were already there, including the one she wanted to see most. Regina was talking to Kathryn. The brunette diverted her eyes from her friend for a second and looked at Emma, but it ended as soon as it started and Regina looked at Kathryn again. Emma took a deep breath and went to look for a seat. She spotted a seat by Ruby's side that she must have been keeping for her, and sat quietly.

Regina's alarm went off at 6:30 the next morning, the same time as usual. She got up, rubbing her eyes, and went to the bathroom to shower and get ready.

In the shower, she examined her wrist. The bruise had darkened considerably, leaving a blue ring circling it. When she got out of the shower, Regina picked out her outfit and dressed herself, purposely choosing a long sleeved shirt, despite the balmy weather, in order to hide her bruise. Nosy questions could do nothing but bring her more trouble. Just to be sure, she blended some cover-up into the bruise and topped it off with a wide shiny bracelet. There. Now no one would notice.

Her mother had already gone to work by the time she reached the kitchen. Of course. She would want to get the most out of the day and start working as early as possible. Looking at the clock, Regina realized she would need to leave now if she didn't want to be late. Usually she drove to school, but her mother had taken away her car keys as punishment for being late to class. She would have to walk to school today. Regina filled up a thermos with coffee and grabbed a bagel to eat on the way to school, then walked out the door.

\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o /\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o /\o/\o/\o/

The boring classes started and finished and it was like Regina didn't even know she existed. Finally the bell rang again, indicating it was lunch time. _Finally! That's my chance._ Emma practically ran out of the classroom, ignoring her friends who were calling her name. _I will talk to them later and explain everything._ She casually waited in a corner of the hallway close to the janitor's room with her arms folded over her chest and one leg on the wall behind her. When she spotted Regina's frame, she did the only thing she could think of. She grabbed her arm and pulled her into the janitor's room.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Was the first thing she said when she looked at Emma.

"I need to talk to you." Emma said softly.

"Well, I don't want to talk to you, so if you'd excuse me I have lunch now." Regina turned to leave, but Emma grabbed her right wrist and Regina hissed in pain.

"What is it? Are you hurt?" Emma asked with concern in her voice.

"No, and even if I were, that's none of your business, Miss Swan." Of course Regina would not reply her nicely _or_ tell her the truth.

Regina tried to pull her arm free from Emma's grasp but she failed. Emma eased her grip on the small brunette's wrist and whispered. "Let me see." With that she pushed the brunette's long sleeve up her arm, exposing a greatly bruised wrist. Emma ran her thumb slowly over the nasty mark and then looked up at Regina. "What happened, Regina?"

"Apparently my bracelet was squeezing my wrist a little too much." Regina said in a small voice.

"Regina...don't lie to me. Please." Her other hand went to the small girl's face, and she saw Regina leaning into her touch and closing her eyes.

"Then don't ask, Emma. Please." Regina sniffed.

Hearing the vulnerability in the girl's voice, she decided not to ask, for now. "Okay, I won't." And then she enveloped Regina in a hug, which, to her surprise, she didn't back out of; instead she felt Regina's arms enveloping her as well.

After a moment Regina let go of Emma and said after clearing her throat, "What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Emma took a step back, giving Regina some space, before speaking, "I, uh... well, I"

"You should say whatever it is that you wanna say in this century; I have things to do, you know" Regina said, crossing her arms over her chest and raising one eyebrow.

"Okay, sorry... I... What I wanted to ask is, why did you run away like that yesterday? After, you know..." Emma trailed off.

"I, uh, I wanted to ride more and my help was no longer needed there, so I left. I did not run away." Regina said, trying to keep calm.

"Oh really? Okay, then why did you pretend that I didn't exist today? You avoided me all day long." Emma was getting pissed; she was getting tired of Regina's excuses and lies.

"Because, I-" Regina started but Emma cut her off.

"And before you start to lie to me again remember that I know when people lie, and that, Your Majesty, includes you. So stop with the crap and tell me the truth. Why are you acting like this? Did you regret the kiss?"

"No!" Regina said, a little faster than she wanted. _Damn it! _- She cleared her throat and tried again. "No. I was just confused." Regina paused and looked at the ground. _I can't believe I'm doing this_ she thought. "I have never kissed a girl before... I never **wanted** to kiss a girl before. And then you came, with your stubborn ways and your stupid red leather jacket and changed everything." She said in a small voice, and looked at green eyes before speaking again. "Yesterday when we ran into each other, I had just broken up with my boyfriend, and then we had that moment in the hallway, and after that, Gold happened, and you stood up for me, and then the horse thing, and finally the kiss. It was just too much happening in one day for me. I had to get away from all that and be alone, to think. And today, I just didn't know what to do about it all, but I didn't regret the kiss." She said and gave Emma a small smile. "It's just... it's all happening too fast and I need time." Regina finished and sighed.

Emma was just so happy she could barely contain herself. _She doesn't regret it, she just needs time. That's good, right?! Time is good. We won't be together now but she didn't say it wouldn't happen eventually. I just need to slow things down. Yeah, that's what I'm gonna do. Be cool, Emma. Breathe in and let it out slowly. Now say something because you are staring at her like you are an idiot._

"Okay." _Jesus Christ, that's it?! God, you ARE an idiot!_

"Okay?" Regina said furrowing her brow.

"Yeah, I mean, I get it. You want some time to think and sort things out. It's okay with me." Emma said with a smile. "See, that was easy. You should try to do that more often instead of being all hostile and shit." Regina slapped Emma on the arm. "Ow, What was that for?"

"I am not hostile." Regina said. "Thank you" She said; it was barely audible, but Emma heard it, and the words made a smirk grow on the blonde's face.

"What was that?" Emma said.

Regina narrowed her eyes "I'm not gonna say it again."

"Oh, it's okay, I heard it the first time. I was just having a hard time believing the mighty Queen just thanked me." Slap. "Ow! Stop that!" Regina had slapped Emma again.

"Then stop making fun of me!" Regina said, smirking "Does it hurt?" Regina said, pointing to her arm.

"Yeah, you slapped hard the second time. Why, will you kiss it better?"

"I don't think so." Regina was grinning evilly at her, and then _slap_!

"Fuck, Regina! Stop it." Emma said, and Regina actually chuckled.

"Okay, that was the last one... for now. Now let's get out of here." Regina said and opened the door just a little to peek outside. There was no one in the corridor; they were probably all eating in the cafeteria. _Thank God_, Regina thought. She turned to Emma again. "There is no one there. I will leave first, and then you wait a few minutes and go." She turned again and was already opening the door when Emma spoke.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait." Emma said quickly. Regina turned to her again. "When will we talk again?"

Regina rolled her eyes "I don't know. No one can know about us, not for now, at least."

Emma nodded, "Okay... So, can I get a kiss then?" Emma said, wiggling her eyebrows up and down.

Regina had to put a hand over her mouth to stop her laughter. "Okay, a little one." The brunette put her hands on Emma's face and smiled. She leaned in and touched her lips to Emma's.

Emma's hands went directly to Regina's waist, pulling her closer. Their mouths moved together slowly, allowing them to feel each other, taste each other. Emma tried to deepen the kiss by running her tongue over Regina's lip but Regina didn't open her mouth, instead she smiled into the kiss and pulled back. "I said a little one." Emma grunted in response. Regina gave her a quick peck on the lips, "Now, let's go before we get in trouble."

Emma nodded, letting go of Regina's waist, then missing the older girl's body immediately and pouting.

Regina tilted her head to the side and smiled in response to the blonde's cute pout, grabbing Emma's hand. "I will see you soon." The brunette gave it a light squeeze and went out the door.

Emma wanted to say 'no', to say 'don't go', but she had to take it slow and give the girl some space. She sighed and went out the door as well, heading to the cafeteria where she found her friends.

Regina entered the cafeteria, scanning the room for her friends. Finally, she saw Kathryn's blonde hair, swept into her trademark ponytail, and breathed out a sigh of relief. She went over and sat next to her friends.

"Where were you?" Kathryn asked her. Regina bit her lip as she struggled to think up a plausible excuse.

"Oh, you know, I had to go talk to one of my teachers after class" Regina lied quickly. "I want to do an extra credit assignment in order to boost my GPA so I can get into college early admission." Kathryn rolled her eyes, and Regina let out the breath she had inadvertently been holding.

"Regina, you have the highest grades in our year. Any school would be lucky to have you. Stop stressing out about it so much. Now go get some food, you must be starving." Kathryn scolded, and Regina gave a fake laugh.

"Yes ma'am" She saluted the blonde jokingly, and got up to get food, relieved. She had bought her story.

\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o /\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o /\o/\o/\o/

She sat at the table just to see her friends' knowing smirks.

"What?" She said, trying to look innocent.

"Oh, nothing. It's just strange that Regina entered that door two minutes before you and no one seemed to know where you were… oh, and Kathryn was also looking for Regina. But I'm sure you know nothing about it, right?" Ruby said, and Emma just wanted to slap the smirk off her face. But instead, she smiled.

"Well, uh…"

"And before you start to lie to us, don't; we will know." Ruby smiled. "Come on, Em, out with it. Start with yesterday."

"There is really nothing to tell… Yesterday we were riding, I fell of the horse, Regina helped me up, and we kissed." Emma said with a small smile, and Mary Margaret, who was sitting by her side, gasped, a happy gasp. "Then she freaked out and left. And now I was talking to her about it. She said she just want to take it slow, because she just broke up with her boyfriend and stuff." Emma finished and she was pleased to see that her friends were happy for her.

"This is amazing, Emma. I mean, she could have said she didn't like it or that she didn't want to do it again, but she just wants to take it slow." Mary Margaret said, squeezing Emma's arm in reassurance and smiling widely.

"I know and I'm really happy about it." Emma said smiling at her friend.

"Okay, let's just stop with this cheesy talk now. So how about you tell us the horse story after the school? We could go to Granny's. What you guys think?"

"Great idea, babe." Belle said, and gave Ruby a peck on the lips.

"Thanks" Ruby said with a big smile. "How about the rest of you?"

Mary Margaret looked at David, who nodded, and then back to Ruby. "Okay with us. Emma?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. But I don't wanna talk about the horse thing. I don't want people laughing at me. Again."

"Oh, no. You have to tell us. We won't laugh, we promise. Right, guys?"

"Yes." They all said in unison.

\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o /\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o /\o/\o/\o/

They lied to her. Emma had just finished telling them the story about Argo and they had been laughing until now. But Emma was laughing too, unable to contain herself. After school they went straight to Granny's Diner. Granny was a very good person with her grey hair and sympathetic smile. _And she made the best grilled cheese I have ever had_.

It was safe to say Emma really liked Granny.

The four friends spent almost the entire afternoon talking and having fun, with Ruby once in a while when business in the diner was slow.

Regina made sure to go home right away after school. She didn't need her mother taking away any more of the things she loved as punishment. As soon as she walked through the door, she was met by the very same woman calling her name from the living room.

That was strange. Cora Mills never got home before 5. Walking to the living room, Regina found her seated on the sofa, legs crossed and hands resting on her knees, as ladylike as the Queen of England herself.

"Mother, what are you doing home so early?" Regina asked, confused. Cora smiled smoothly.

"We're having company for dinner tonight" She stated conversationally. "The Walkers. They're new here, and as your father is mayor, I thought it would project a good image if we invited them over for a meal and some friendly conversation." Regina resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Everything was about image with Cora.

"Fantastic" She replied, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "So can I go now? I have things I need to do."

Cora laughed coldly. "Oh no, Regina. You need to help me prepare the food. Everything needs to be perfect. We need to convince these people that this town is a caring and welcoming place."

"But it is…" Regina trailed off hesitantly. "Why do we need to convince them of something they can see is true for themselves?"

"Because Regina, things can always be better. I swear, it's like you don't listen to me at all. Things can always be better. Images can be improved, tasks can be done better, and status can be raised. There is no other option but to go up. Of course, this can only happen if you behave yourself."

"Mother I always-" Regina began to insist, but Cora cut her off.

"Not like your usual unrefined behavior. I need pure sophistication tonight, Regina. We need to impress these people, if it is the last thing we do." Regina looked slightly terrified at her mother's intensity, then nodded.

"Now. They have a daughter, dear. I forget the girl's name, but she's around your age. Perhaps you two could get acquainted; show her around town a bit, help her get acclimated to the new school."

"Yes, mother". The last thing Regina wanted was to be forced to be friends with some new girl, but she couldn't say no to her mother. What would she even be like? She really hoped it wasn't some bratty freshman girl who thought she was cool because she listened to the Top 40 station.

"I'm glad we have that settled. Now help me get the house ready." Sighing, Regina began the long preparations that inevitably ensued whenever they had company.

SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ SQ

Emma felt her phone vibrate. She grabbed it and the screen read: **1 New Message. **She opened it and it was from Sarah.

(5:20 pm):** Emma, the mayor invited us for dinner tonight at 6. Please don't be late.**

**Love you, Mom.**

Emma pressed reply and started to tap the screen.

(5:22 pm) _Kay, I'll b there! :)_

A few minutes later her phone vibrated again.

(5:26 pm) **I'm serious Em, it's the mayor. Don't be late or you will be in trouble.**

Emma sighed, annoyed, and replied.

(5:28 pm) _I said I would be there. I will be there. Calm down._

(5:30 pm) **Okay, I'm sorry. See you in an hour then. Love you. :)**

(5:31 pm) _See ya._

Emma replied, but she could almost see her mother's disappointment when she read the message and saw that Emma didn't say she loved her back. With that thought, she pressed reply again and tapped quickly.

(5:32 pm)_ Luv u 2. :D_

Now she could almost see her mother's big smile. Emma smiled.

"Who was it?" Came a voice from in front of her. She looked up and saw Ruby.

"Oh, it was my mom. Apparently the mayor invited us to dinner, and she said that I can't be late." Emma rolled her eyes, while the other four's mouthes was hanging open. "What?" Emma asked, frowning.

"Uh, Emma do you know who lives in the mayor's house?" Belle asked slowly. Emma raised one eyebrow before answering with a 'duh' voice. "Hmm, the Mayor?"

"No, besides the mayor…" Belle said, and Emma just shook her head no.

"It's Reg-"

"His wife. She is the one who also lives there." Ruby said quickly, putting a hand over Belle's mouth to prevent her from talking.

Emma eyed them suspiciously, "Okaay… you guys are weird." She felt a hand on her arm and looked to see Mary Margaret looking at her lovingly "If you want to be on time I suggest you go now, honey."

Emma looked at the time on her phone. **5:39 pm **"Fuck, I'm gonna be late! I have to go, bye." She said and ran out of the diner.

A minute passed, and Emma remembered that she didn't know where the mayor house was.

"Where is the mayor's house?" She said, entering the diner again with wide eyes.

"Mifflin Street. It's the big white house, you can't miss it." Mary Margaret said, and Emma nodded but she still stood there. "EMMA! GO!" Ruby almost yelled, and Emma finally ran out the door. Again.

Grabbing her bike once again, she started pedaling towards the big white house. M&M was right. You couldn't miss it. It was huge. Emma put the bike by the small white fence in the corner of the house and walked up the path to the big house. Her parents' car was already there, so they were waiting for her. She looked at the time on her phone again. **5:56 pm. **_Oh, thank God. I'm early. No punishment for me. Yay!_

She put the phone back in her pocket and knocked on the door. After a short minute, she heard the sound of heels. The door opened to show Regina with a very fake smile that vanished from her face the moment she saw the blonde.

"Regina?"

"Emma?"

They said at the same time.

Emma asked, confused with a big frown on her face.

Regina asked, with a look of pure horror and surprise.

**_A/N 3: Well, here it is. An extra large chapter for you guys. I hope you enjoyed. You can PM me or contact me on Tumblr: _**_dreamerforever-d_**_,and please don't forget to review. :)_**


	7. The dinner

Be My White Knight.

_Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Once Upon a Time or any of the characters, It all belongs to ABC and Edward and Adam, but if I did, SwanQueen would be canon without a doubt in my heart!_

**_A/N: Hey guys, thank you so much for all the favorites and follows I got from the last chapter. The reviews really made me happy. You guys are the sweetest.  
_**_**Also, I got a job this week. (yay!) but the updates may take a little while longer due to that. :( I know, I know, but I promise I will do my best to write as much as I can with the new job and make you happy. Thanks again for all the great reviews and all the alerts. They make my day.**_**_  
So, review again and make me even happier, okay? xo  
-daypegoraro_**

_Chapter 7: The Dinner._

**Earlier on the same day – Walker's Residence – 4:30 pm**

Sarah was sitting in the living room, watching a Lindsay Lohan movie about girls in High School. It was a movie for teenagers; but she had to admit it was a good movie, when the phone rang. She sighed and got up just when the girls started to sing Jingle Bell Rock in very short Christmas-themed clothes. She grabbed the device, pressed the green button and said: "Hello?"

"_Hello, is this the Walker's residence?"_ A woman's voice sounded on the phone.

"Yes it is. Who is this?" Sarah asked, curious.

"_Hello, Mrs. Walker. My name is Cora Mills; I'm the mayor's wife. How are you?"_ Cora said in her sweetest voice.

"Oh, hello, Mrs. Mills. I am very well, thank you. How are you?" Sarah said with a smile.

"_I'm wonderful, dear. I understand you and your family just moved in?"_ Cora said.

"Yes, a couple of days ago."

"_How do you like the town?"_

"Oh, it's lovely. It's very calm; much different from Boston." Sarah let out a small laugh and heard the other woman do the same.

"_I'm glad you are enjoying our little town. I' calling because my husband and I would like to invite you and your family to dinner tonight."_

"That is really kind of you. We would love to have dinner with you tonight." Sarah said happily.

"_That is wonderful, dear. We will be expecting you at six."_

"Okay, we will be there. Thanks for the invitation, Mrs. Mills."

"_You're welcome. We will see each other in a few hours, Mrs. Walker, and please, call me Cora."_

"Very well, Cora. See you in a few hours, oh, and call me Sarah. Goodbye."

"_Goodbye dear."_ Cora said and hung up.

Sarah put the phone down. _I have to call Kevin and let Emma know._

She remembered that Kevin was in Boston. Some problems had come up with their law firm. _I have to tell him to come home, fast._ Sarah thought. She tapped the digits of her husband's cell phone number and pressed send.

"Hey babe" came his voice and Sarah smiled.

"Hey, Kev. Are you still in Boston?"

"No, I'm already on the road. Almost home. Why, what's up?" Kevin said, a little worry evident in his voice.

"I just received a call from the mayor's wife inviting us to dinner tonight at six."

"Wow, that's nice."

"I know."

"Did you tell Em? She is never on time."

"No, she is going to Granny's with some friends. I will just text her and let her know it's important."

"Okay. I'm almost there. We will talk soon."

"Okay. Love you. Bye."

"Love you too. Bye"

Sarah hung up. _Now I have to let Emma know._ She sighed and started to tap a new message on her phone.

After letting Emma know about their new plans for dinner, Sarah went to her room to pick out her clothes for tonight. She chose a simple dark blue dress and black heels. Nothing too fancy, but elegant enough for dinner with the Mayor's family. Next she picked a light blue social shirt for Kevin and a black suit with matching pants. _Okay, now I just need to shower and get ready. I hope Kevin gets home soon. _Sarah thought while she walked to the bathroom.

When Sarah was finishing her light make up, Kevin got to their bedroom, but stopped to look at his wife. Sarah smiled. "Do you like it?"

"Wow, uh, yes! You look beautiful." Kevin said, finally entering the room. He walked toward his wife and kissed her softly.

"Hm, thanks. Your clothes are on the bed; go take a quick shower and get ready." Sarah said, pushing him to the bathroom.

"Okay, okay." He said, smiling.

After half an hour, the couple was ready to go, and they still had 30 minutes to spare. Suddenly Sarah remembered she didn't know where the Mayor lives.

"Kev?" Sarah asked trying to sound calm.

"Yeah?" Kevin answered from the kitchen, where he was drinking some water.

"Do you know where the Mayor lives?" Sarah asked slowly.

There was a minute of silence and then Kevin appeared in the kitchen doorway narrowing his eyes at her. "No, but you should, since _you_ talked to his wife today."

Sarah put both her hands on her face. "I forgot to ask."

"Well, that's awesome. What were you doing that was so important that you forgot to ask her where she lived?"

Sarah turned bright red, "I, uh, was watching… Iwaswatchingalindsaylohanmovie." She said as quickly as she could.

"You what?"

"I was watching a Lindsay Lohan movie, okay?" Sarah said, looking at him, her face still bright red.

Kevin started to laugh. "Seriously?"

Sarah sighed. "Yes. It was very interesting. And when she called, the girls were singing 'Jingle Bell Rocks', and then this girl kicked the radio and it fell into some boy's face. It was really funny." Sarah giggled, remembering the scene while trying not to laugh in the phone.

Kevin managed to quiet his laughter and spoke again "Okay. Well, I'm sure it was very interesting. Look, don't worry." He said, approaching her. "I'm sure everybody knows where it is. We just have to ask someone."

Sarah looked at him and nodded. "Okay. Let's go then or we will be late."

They left the house and got in the car. They were on Main Street, waiting for the lights to turn green, when a man on a black motorcycle stopped by Sarah's side of the car. Sarah didn't waste any time, despite Kevin's protests, and rolled down her window.

"Excuse me, sir?" Sarah said, trying to get the man's attention.

The man turned to her and gave her a friendly smile. "Yes?"

"Hi, good afternoon. We are new in town and we are looking for the Mayor's house. Do you know where it is?"

"Oh, welcome. I'm August Booth." The man said while extending his hand.

"Thanks, I'm Sarah Walker and this is my husband Kevin." Sarah said, shaking his hand and smiling.

"Nice to meet you." August said to Sarah and nodded to Kevin. "Well, it's really easy to get to the mayoral mansion. You just go ahead and turn left on Mifflin Street. It's a beautiful white house. You can't miss. I think the number is 108."

"Thanks Mr. Booth." Sarah said.

"You're welcome, and you can call me August. I hope you find the mansion."

"Thank you again for your help. Have a nice day." Kevin was the one who spoke this time.

"You too." August nodded and drove away.

The couple followed his instructions and indeed they saw the big white mansion. It was beautiful.

Kevin and Sarah took a deep breath and got out of the car. They joined their hands and laced their fingers. "I hope Em can make it on time."

Kevin brought their joined hand to his mouth and kissed Sarah's. "She will make it. Don't worry. She still has…" He said looking at his watch, "7 minutes left." He smiled at his wife and they started to walk towards the mansion.

They rang the doorbell and three smiling people appeared in the doorway.

\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o /\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o /\o/\o/\o/

**Earlier that Day –Mayor's Office – 4:00 pm**

Henry Mills was in his office. There was a bunch of paper work for him to do: budget from the Sheriff's office, the school, some citizen's complains, and other boring things. He did a good job running the town, but he was getting old for all this.

He would keep in his position until Regina was old enough to run for Mayor. He had talked to his daughter and she had shown interest in politics. Henry also knew how responsible her daughter was and that she would do everything to run this town properly and fairly. The problem was his wife. Cora wants to Regina become a lawyer like her.

Henry's heart broke for his daughter; Cora was very harsh with the girl. He tried to talk to Cora, tried to convince her that that was not the way, but Cora didn't listen.

He sighed.

There was a silent knock on his door. After a low 'come in', the Mayor's assistant poked his head inside of the office and said quietly, "Mayor, your wife wishes to speak to you on line 2."

"I will take it, Charles. Thank you." Henry said with a friendly smile. The man nodded and closed the door.

Henry sighed again before picking up the phone receiver and pressing the button to line two, that was currently red. "Cora, you wanted to speak to me?"

"Yes! Your daughter skipped a class today. She is incompetent just like you." Cora said, sounding really angry.

"Cora, I'm sure she had a reason to do that." Henry said in a calm tone.

"You are useless, just like her. I am the only one who does the right thing in this family, no matter what it takes!" Cora seemed even angrier, if that was possible. Henry needed to do something to change that.

"Look, if you are finished saying bad things about our daughter, why don't you make a nice dinner for the new family in town?"

"And why in hell would I want to do that?" Cora said with a dry laugh.

"Because they just moved from Boston and they are lawyers too, from what I've heard." Henry said. Cora always liked power; maybe this dinner would make her forget about Regina.

"Oh. I think I could arrange something." Cora said; her mind starting to plan a hundred different ways to take advantage of the situation.

"Yeah, I've heard they have a law company in Boston, but they decided to live in a calm town, so they came here. They also have a daughter who's Regina's age." Henry said, hoping Cora would drop the Regina subject.

Cora smirked. _What a better way to get to the family than by their beloved daughter? And I won't need to do anything. Regina will be useful for once. _"Okay, I will get their number and call them. Dinner will be at six. Don't be late!" Cora said and hung up, not even bothering to say goodbye.

\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o /\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o /\o/\o/\o/

**Mills' Residence – 4:30 pm**

Getting the Walker's phone number was easy. She was Cora Mills, after all. She just had to call the phone company and said her name and voila; the next moment she was writing the phone number down on a piece of paper.

Cora called the Walkers while Regina was in the kitchen making lasagna.

Mrs. Walker, Sarah, picked up the phone. Convincing her was really easy; she was a very trusting person for a lawyer. Cora used her best sweet and welcoming voice, that she only used when she was in public or working on a case, and made small talk. When she finally invited her and her family, the Walker woman was very happy, as expected. _So naïve, _Cora thought with a smirk.

She ended the call and went to the kitchen, just in time to see her daughter putting the lasagna in the oven. _Now I just have to convince her to be friends with the girl._

"Hello darling. We are having your delicious lasagna, I see." Cora said smiling at Regina.

"Hmm, yes mother." Regina said suspiciously.

"That is perfect. You know how much I love it when you cook." Cora was by Regina's side now. She put one hand on her hair and was caressing it slowly.

Regina knew that something was wrong, but her need for the love of her mother was stronger than her instincts, and she leaned into Cora's touch. "Thank you, mother."

"I need you to do something for me, my darling daughter." Cora said slowly, still caressing Regina's head and pulling her close.

"What is it, mother?" Regina said, looking up at her mother.

"As I told you before, we're having company for dinner. The Walkers just moved in a couple days ago, and they have a daughter that's about your age. What I need you to do, Regina, is to become friends with the girl. I need to gain the trust of her family and this is the easiest way." Cora said in a very calm voice, like she was the best mother in the world. She smiled down at Regina and put a hand on her face. "Can you do that for me, Regina?"

Regina knew her mother was up to something, but she didn't care. Being in her mother's arms like that was like a dream. Regina always did everything to please her mother, to gain her love, so she would take it whenever she could. "Of course, mother. Anything for you." Regina said, smiling at her mother.

Cora's smile widened "That's my little princess." She kissed the top of Regina's head and let go of her. "Now, go up and get ready. We don't have much time left."

Regina nodded and went upstairs. She chose a black dress that stopped mid-thigh and black stiletto heels. After a quick shower, Regina was dressed and looked at herself in the full length mirror in her room. Deciding she liked what she saw, she went to her bathroom to start her make-up. _I need to make mother proud,_ Regina thought as she finished brushing her hair.

When she went down again, everything was in perfect order and ready for the guests to arrive. Her mother was already dressed in black pants and a white bottom up shirt with a black jacket on top.

Her father was also there, dressed in an elegant suit, as always. She smiled when she saw him, and he smiled back. "Hello daddy." Regina said and hugged him.

"Hello my darling." He said, and kissed her cheek.

Cora rolled her eyes at the scene. The sound of a car approaching made her stop the sweet moment the father and daughter were having. "Stop that. Our guests are here."

The doorbell rang, and mother and daughter put on their best fake smiles. Cora opened the door to a smiling couple. "Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Walker. I'm so glad you could make it. Please, come in." Cora said, and stepped aside so the couple could enter.

\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o /\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o /\o/\o/\o/

The couple entered the house to see a very smiling Henry with his daughter by his side. "Hello, it's very nice to meet you." Henry said, shaking Kevin and Sarah's hand. "Nice to meet you too." Kevin said. "You have a beautiful house." Sarah said.

"Thank you" said Cora, positioning herself by her husband's side.

"I'm Cora, it's nice to finally meet you, Sarah, and Mr. Walker." She said, smiling at the couple.

"Please, call me Kevin." Kevin said.

"Oh, how distracted of me. This is our daughter Regina." Cora said, pointing her hand at the girl standing by her husband's side.

"Regina?" Kevin said suddenly. _That's the name of the girl Emma kissed. No! Can it be? _"What a beautiful name." Kevin said, trying to mask his surprise but Regina saw it.

"Where is your lovely daughter?" Cora asked, still smiling.

"Oh, she should be here any minute now." _I hope, _Sarah thought.

"Why don't we wait for her in the living room?" Henry said. The couple nodded and started to walk toward the living room when the doorbell rang again.

"That should be your daughter." Cora said, "Regina can you please get the door?" Cora continued, and gave Regina a look that meant '_Don't disappoint me',_ and then followed the rest of the adults.

Regina walked to the door, put on her best fake smile, took a deep breath and opened the door. _It's now or nev- shit!_, Her thought was interrupted when she saw who was standing on her porch.

"Emma?" She said in horror.

"Regina?" Emma said at the same time, with a cute frown on her forehead. _Now's not the time for this!"_

\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o /\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o /\o/\o/\o/

"Emma, what are you doing here?" Regina whispered, taking a step forward and closing the door behind her.

"What are YOU doing here?" Emma asked, still confused. She also couldn't think straight because Regina was too close. She forgot to take a step back. _Well, I will keep forgetting._

"Well, last time I checked, this was my house. Now, the question is: What are **you** doing here, Miss Swan?" Regina said, narrowing her eyes.

"My mom told me the Mayor invited us for dinner." Emma gasped "You are the Mayor's kid?"

"You are the Walkers' daughter?" Regina also asked; and then they both nodded, answering each other's questions.

"B-but your name is not even Walker, it's Swan." Regina said suddenly nervous. Her mother asked her to be friends with Emma, to get information from her. _Well, we are a little bit more than friends already, mother._

"Ugh! I'm going to kill Ruby. She knew, they all knew I was coming to your house, and they didn't say anything." Emma said angrily.

"Well, we will just have to pretend we don't know each other." Regina said nodding to herself. "It should be easy enough."

\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o /\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o /\o/\o/\o/

After introducing herself for Henry, it was time she met Cora. She hated the woman without even meeting her, because of what David said she did to Regina, and she hated her even more because she knew it was true. Emma saw the bruise on her arm.

"Hello, nice to meet you" Cora said with a kind, and very fake, smile.

_Two can play this game. _Emma thought. "Hi. Nice to meet you too. I'm Emma Swan." Emma smiled.

"Swan?" Cora asked, confused.

It was Sarah who answered her question. "Yes. We adopted Emma a few years ago. She has always been called Emma Swan, so we let her keep her name." Sarah said, looking at Cora, then rapidly looking at Emma, who smiled warmly at her.

"That's beautiful" Cora said before pointing at the dining room, "Shall we eat? My beautiful daughter prepared the best lasagna you'll ever eat."

They walked side by side: Cora and Sarah first, then Henry and Kevin, and finally Regina and Emma.

Emma took the opportunity to talk to Regina.

"Is your mom always this fake?" Emma whispered.

"Yes. Get use to it." Regina said dryly.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. You are very pretty tonight." Emma said and blushed a little.

So did Regina. She looked to the floor and tried really hard not to smile, but one slipped on her face anyway. "Thanks." She whispered right before they reached the dining room.

"Please, take a seat." Cora said, and sat in the head of the table. Henry sat in front of them at the other side of the table.

Regina took her usual place: first seat on the left side of the table, right by her mother's side. Sarah took the seat on Cora's right side and Emma would have sat by her side, but Cora spoke first.

"Emma, why don't you let your father sit next to your mother and go sit by Regina's side?" Cora said, the fake happiness never leaving her face.

Emma had to fight really hard not to smirk. _If she only knew,_ Emma thought. She looked at Regina on the other side of the table, and Regina was blushing; really blushing. Emma looked at Cora and answered. "Of course I can." She walked to the other side of the table and sat next to Regina.

Regina couldn't even look at her. She kept staring at anything but the blonde by her side.

\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o /\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o/\o/\o/\o/SQ\o /\o/\o/\o/

The lasagna was already on the table and ready to be eaten. Cora, as the host, cut the pieces and put them on their plates. Emma, Sarah and Kevin were the first ones served, and then Henry, Regina, and herself.

After the first bite, Emma moaned loudly. "My God, Regina, this is delicious." Emma said.

"Oh, I bet you like it." Kevin said, but his smirk told Emma he was not just talking about the food.

After receiving a death glare from Emma, he cleared his throat, "I mean, you've always liked lasagna. But she is right; this is delicious Regina. You are very skilled in the kitchen." Kevin smiled gently at her, and Regina saw herself smiling back; a true and sincere smile.

Regina looked at Emma; Kevin's comment not having gone unnoticed by Regina. She gave Emma a 'we-will-talk-about-this-later' look and Emma returned it with an apologetic smile.

Cora's voice sounded in the background, and both of them snapped their heads towards the woman.

"So, Emma, did you know Regina?" Cora asked curious about their interaction.

"Oh, I uh- I may have _bumped_ into her in the _hallway_. –ouch!" Emma said suddenly. Regina took advantage of their proximity to kick Emma's leg under the table.

"What is it Emma? Are you okay?" Sarah asked with concern.

"I'm okay. Just a little spasm. I'm not used to ride my bike anymore." Emma smiled weakly. Emma was very good at telling when people were lying, but she herself was a terrible liar.

"Oh, that's interesting." Cora said, still intrigued.

"It is an interesting story. You should tell Cora and Henry about the horse." Kevin said, and this time, Emma kicked him. He just flinched a little, trying to mask his pain.

Regina just stared at him wide-eyed. _I can't believe Emma told him about the kiss. I'm gonna kill her! _Regina thought.

"It's not that good." Emma said, chuckling nervously.

"Please dear, I would love to hear it." Cora said, and Emma could almost see her head thinking of a million possibilities.

"It's silly. I had never ridden a horse before, so Regina taught me some things and my horse just started running like crazy, and Regina went to save me, and she was yelling at me to pull the horse's reins, and I apparently pulled a little too fast, and Argo just stopped, and I went flying," Emma said with a smile on her lips. "Then she came over to see if I was okay and then we…" Regina was pinching Emma's leg to make her stop talking. Emma whimpered and closed her eyes for a moment before saying, "then I went home. The end."

After that, Emma grabbed Regina's hand from her thigh and squeezed it quite strongly. Regina sighed from the pain in her hand.

A few minutes went by until Henry started to laugh, his voice heard for the first time since the dinner had started. "A rookie mistake. Regina is an excellent rider; maybe she could help you more. She always loved horses, ever since she was a little girl." Henry said, looking at Emma and then to Regina. Emma looked at the brunette beside her just to see a beautiful and genuine smile on her lips. _Oh, those lips. _Emma thought, and just then realized she had been staring. She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to get those lips and the feeling of how soft they are out of her mind.

The gesture was not unnoticed by Regina, who smirked. She felt a caressing on her hand, and just in that moment, she noticed that their hands were still together, and their fingers laced themselves automatically. Regina looked briefly at their joined hands, and then at Emma; she gave an almost imperceptible smile that was just for Emma, and squeezed her hand softly. The adults were talking about jobs and what they did to have fun, and all this time, Emma and Regina's hands were still united, caressing each other.

After dinner, Henry invited the Walker couple to his study where they could have some drinks, while Regina and Cora would clean the kitchen. Of course Cora would not clean the kitchen; she would just go to the study after a few moments and say how Regina was a wonderful daughter, as always, and offered to clean everything herself. Emma was also in the study, but she was incredibly bored, so she excused herself and went to the kitchen to help Regina and Cora with the cleaning. At least that way, she would be close to Regina…

When she was close to the kitchen door, she accidentally overheard Cora and Regina's conversation.

"_I told you to get close to the girl but you didn't even look at her all night. You are just as useless as your father. A disappointment; that is what you are. Can't you do something right for once? Well, apparently not!" _Cora was angry. There you go, Emma, the mask is off. This is what happens when they are alone.

"_I'm sorry, mother." _Regina sounded so small and fragile, not even a bit like the girl she met the day before.

"_You will go back there and treat this girl like a princess, you understand?"_

"_Yes, mother."_

" _Good. Invite her to go to your bedroom, or just show her the house. This girl has to think you are her best friend. Don't disappoint me again, Regina."_

Emma had enough. How dare that woman do that?! _Maybe it was a plan. Everything that happened between me and Regina was a part of some wicked scheme. No! I won't make any conclusions. I have to talk to Regina first." _Emma thought, and walked the rest of the way more roughly, making sure to make noise and warn them of her presence.

"Hey. I was bored there and came here to see if you guys need help." Emma said, trying to sound as naïve about the situation as possible.

"How thoughtful of you, dear." Cora said; the smile coming back to her face full force. "Regina just offered herself to finish cleaning so I can go to the study and join your parents. But I'm sure Regina will appreciate the help. Isn't that right, dear?" Cora said, now looking at Regina.

"Of course; all help is appreciated." Regina gave Emma a weak smile that broke Emma's heart.

"Great! Now if you excuse me, I will go back to the boring adult conversation." She was the only one that laughed at her joke. "You girls have fun." And with that, she was out of there.

Regina turned around and kept loading the dishwasher, her back turned to Emma. Emma walked over Regina, until she was standing right behind her. She pressed her body against Regina's, putting her hands on the brunette's waist.

Regina felt Emma's body against her own, and she tensed. She knew what she was supposed to be was wrong, but she could do it with everyone without a second though, except for the girl behind her. _How can I do this to her? I don't think I can… _Regina was brought back from her reverie when Emma's voice sounded right beside her ear. "Is this real?" Emma said in a small voice, "Are we real?" She said, and Regina sensed a hint of fear in her tone.

Regina turned so she was looking at Emma. She smiled at her and put her arms in Emma's shoulders. Regina's eyes were truthful and her voice didn't flinch when she said "Yes."

It was all Emma needed to hear. Her eyes went to Regina's eyes, to her lips. Emma licked her lips unconsciously, and Regina did the same. Emma saw a smile begin to take form on the brunette's face, and she looked at her eyes again. Emma smiled too. For the first time, Regina initiated the kiss, and Emma was quick to catch up with her, pulling Regina close.

They were so distracted by each other's tongues that neither of them noticed the pair of eyes watching them with an open mouth. _I knew it!_ The person thought with a smile on their face.

**A/N 2: I hope you like this chapter. I will not have much time to write now that I'm working, but I will try really hard to write as fast as I can. I told you that already, but I really mean it. :)**

**Follow me on Tumblr – **dreamerforever-d. **Send me things that you would like to see in the story or maybe just send me cute asks I really like asks. Haha**

**Thank you to my wonderful beta and fake fiancée **_tonguemarksonmymirror_**_, for her amazing job, as always. She is also on Tumblr as _**_foreveranevilregal _**_, go follow her too. :)_**

**_Thanks again to all of you who reviewed, favorite and followed the story. Don't forget to leave me a review with what you think about this one. See you in the next chapter. xo_**


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